Long, Lost Memories
by divine-mistress282
Summary: Hermione has memories of her childhood she does not remember occuring. She remembers herself at age 6 clearly. Same as age 8. But something happened at age 7 that just...erased. Hermione is determined to figure out what happened to her those years ago...
1. Finding the Pensive

a/n: hope u like this one.

Hermione was not in the best mood. She sat in the Head compartment of the Hogwarts Express. She had been made Head Girl. Although, to her misfortune, Draco Malfoy was made Head Boy. He sat on the other side of the compartment, practically asleep. Hermione, however, had a thick book in her hands and she was too engrossed in it to pay attention to anything else. Professor McGonagall had already explained to them their dutys and their living arrangments.

Hermione felt the train stop. She immediately closed her book and stood up. She glanced down at the sleeping Draco and smacked his arm with her book. Draco bolted upwards in his seat. Before he got the chance to glare at Hermione, she was gone. By the time everyone reached the Great Hall, first years were being sorted. At the Gryffindor table, Hermione was discussing with Harry and Ron how unfair it was to have to live with someone as vile and pathetic as Draco.

"I mean, everyone _knows _me and Malfoy can't possibly be in the same room with each other without going at each other's throats!" Hermione ranted, "And _why_ choose Malfoy to be Head Boy? I bet his father paid off Dumbledore to get him to the position. Malfoy must be a pathetic, dimwitted numbskull. Don't you agree?" Looking at Harry and Ron, Harry didn't say a word and Ron looked like he was about to faint. Hermione crossed her arms and sighed. When dinner was over, Hermione left Harry and Ron and found Dumbledore outside the Hall with Draco by his side.

"Good evening Ms. Granger" the headmaster said. Hermione nodded her head curtly and surpressed a scowl at Draco. Draco and Hermione followed Dumbledore once he started moving. He stopped after a four floors and stopped in front of a portrait of two little kids. One was blond and looked like a miniature version of Draco. The other was a girl and look just like a mini-Hermione only with frizzier hair. Both were on separate parts of the frame. "This is where you pick your password and enter your living quarters." Dumbledore said. Hermione looked at him and nodded. "This is also where I bid you goodnight. Try to control yourselves this year also." Draco looked at Hermione. Both glaring into each other's eyes.

Once the staring contest was over, Hermione mumbled the password she wanted. "Hatred." The little good looked at her and said in a high, little voice, "Tell me about it sister." The portrait door opened and Hermione went straight to her room. Draco looked around the common room. Scarlet andgold on the walls, emerald and silver carpeting. 'Talk about T-A-C-K-Y' he thought. He had seen better at the Malfoy Manor of course, but this may do. He looked at the west wall in the room and spotted book shelves.

He went over to the shelves and looked at the selection of books. Most he had read already, but he would never let anyone know he liked to read. He assumed Hermione wouldn't be back so he merely picked up a book and sat downon the scarlet and emerald couchin front of the fire. He opened the book and read.

* * *

Hours later, Hermione was tossing and turning in her bed. Sweat was dripping down her forehead and down her cheeks. She moaned and grunted. Whatever she was dreaming, it obviously wasn't good. 

_Hermione was running through trees and bushes. Constantly she looked around her but no one was following. Even though she appeared alone, she was not. A haunting voice rang through the trees, "YOU PROMISED ME HERMIONE! YOU HAVE NOT KEPT YOUR PROMISE!" All while she was running and running from the voice that haunted her, she thought 'What promise have I made and broken?' "YOU PROMISED ME HERMIONE! YOU HAVE NOT KEPT YOUR PROMISE!" repeated the voice again. Hermione tripped over a broken branch and fell on the hard Earth._

_She scrapped her knee, blood flowed from her knee slowly. The voice kept repeating the same sentences. Once she fell, the voice grew louder and louder. Hermione tried to get up but couldn't. Something had hooked her to the ground. "WILL YOU KEEP YOUR PROMISE NOW!" bellowed the voice. Then, everything went black._

* * *

Draco was still down in the common room. He had no idea what time it was, but he was sure it was way passed curfew. He was really deep into the book. Only a few chapters away from finishing it! He figured he should stop reading and sleep. He closed the book and stood up. He had to stretch his legs. God knows how long he had been sitting on that couch. 

As he put the book back, he heard something from Hermione's room. He scoffed. 'Poor little mudblood is having a bad dream' he thought cruely. He smirked his oh-so infamous(sp?) smirk and looked around the circular common room. South of where Draco stood was the portrait hole. North were two staircases. Left to Hermione's room, right to his own bedroom. To the right of Draco's staircase was a door that lead to the small kitchen that was put there in case one of the Heads didn't feel like going down to the Great Hall.

There was a door in the middle of the two staircases. Draco knew that that door lead to the bathroom. Earlier, before Hermione had joined Dumbledore and himself, Dumbledore explained each door and where it lead. Although, there was one door, he did not mention. To the left of Hermione's staircase was a door. A door Draco did not know where it lead. Slightly confused, Draco went to the door and opened it. To his utter confusion, the door he had just entered lead him to a hallway of doors.

Draco tried the first door to his right. It was locked. Then he tried the second door to his left. No luck. He continued to try the doors until he had found the unlocked door. He was able to find the unlocked door in a matter of minutes. Draco prayed the door didn't lead to another hallway, but he was not able to identify where he was now because he saw nothing. Everything was black. Reaching for a wall, he touched something and the room lit up with candles.

The room was empty. Except for a pensive that stood in the middle of the room. Draco was upset for no one informed him that there would be a Pensive Room in his living quarters. He strutted over to the pensive as if he was someone of authority. He took out his wand that was in his robes pocket. He looked into the pensive and saw that something was already put in it. Moving his wand slowly around the area of the pensive, he saw the face of a young, pale faced girl.

Draco looked closer into the pensive, forgetting the consequenses of doing so. When he had came too close, he was no longer standing in the middle of an empty room with the pensive. He was now falling through bright blue sky. He screamed and yelled, as if it made any difference. He did reach solid ground eventually. He landed roughly on healthy green grass. Draco lied on his back and covered his eyes for the sun was way too bright for the moment.

When he decided to get up, he looked around. He was certainly not in Hogwarts anymore. In a distance, he saw kids running around each other. Looking farward he saw two little girls, around the age of 7 years or younger, sitting on the edge of a small boardwalk with their bare feet in the clear lake water. One of the girls had enourmasly frizzy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. The girl next to her had sleek blond hair and shiny grey eyes.

Squinting his eyes a little bit, Draco finally asked, "Granger?" The little girls did not respond. Draco came closer to the girls and listened. "It's a beautiful day" said the young Hermione. The blond girl nodded, "Gorgeous." Young Hermione looked over her shoulder at the playing kids in the park, "You wanna go to the slide? If we hurry, we might get there before Andy McHardy." Blond girl looked over she shoulder as well. She shook her head, "Mimi, I wanna talk to you about something." Young Hermione nodded, "Kay. About about?"

Blond girl took something from her silky blue blouse and showed it to Young Hermione. "So what Gingy? I've seen your necklace a thousand times." Draco looked over Young Hermione's shoulder and saw thatthe girl that went by the nickname "Gingy"was holding a silver necklace with a fake-looking red heart surrounding the letter _V_. "It's not really about the necklace Mimi. Well...I don't think my mommy and daddy are really my mommy and daddy."

Young Hermione frowned, "Why would you say that? Of course they're your mommy and daddy." Draco was amazed that two small girls were having such a serious sounding conversation.Gingy looked out to the lake. "Are you sure? How can you be sure? That lady I call mommy has black hair and that man I call daddy has red hair_. Red_. To me, I'm thankful that I don't havered hair. Arrghh! Not that point. The point is that, I'm sure those people are not my parents. So I'm planning on finding them. My_ real _mommy and daddy."

By now, Draco was already sitting right behind the two girls just like he was watching a movie. Too bad he didn't know what a movie was.Gingy took her feet out of the lake and put her sandals on."Ginge, you're not serious are you? Why would you run away?"Young Hermione asked anxiously. "Because Mimi, I have to. I can't go my whole life not knowing who my parents are." Young Hermione looked like she was about to cry.

* * *

In the present Hermione's room, she was not getting any better. She was crying and constantly put her head under her pillow.Then at last, she wokeup. Cold sweat all around her. She got out of her bed and left her room.Entering the common room, she noticed it was empty. She also noticed that the door that lead to the hallway of doors was open. She panicked immediately. Sheran up Draco's staircase and knocked on the door. No answer. She started banging on the door with her fist. No answer. 

'Oh God' she thought. Sheran back down the stairs andwent inside the hallway through the open door. Thedoor leading into the Pensive Room was also open. She ran to the pensive and looked in really close so she would get in. Once she did, she landed safely on the grass. She was going to be honest with herself. She hadnot remembered ever coming to this place ever in her life. Looking around, she saw Draco sitting behind two little girls.

"Malfoy!" she yelled. Draco jumped and looked at her. He looked sincerely frightened. "Why? Why Malfoy?Whybe a Thirsy McNirsty and come into the pensive! I need to figure this out by myself. Not with you! And another thing-" She did not finish her thought. She looked at the blond girlthat was now standing up. "Gingy don't go" young Hermione cried. "Shh" Gingy said, puttingher index finger over her lips.

"Hermione, Virginia, time to go" cried a female voice. Hermione looked over her shoulder and saw her mother and a lady with short black hair walking in the distance toward the smaller girls. Virginia looked at the adults and back at Young Hermione. She hastily got on her knees and gave Young Hermione the necklace she was holding. "Here Mimi. Keep my necklace. Please, don't tell my mommy whereI went or why I left. Please. Promise me you'll never tell anyone about this and pretend this never happened. Promise?"

The present Hermione stared wide eyed at the scene. Young Hermione nodded her head and sobbed loudly. Virginia gave Young Hermione a hug and ran passed the field of grass into the darker area of dirt and trees. Now Young Hermione was crying and gasping for breath. Then her mother along with Virginia's mother came racing to her. Tears slid down Hermione's cheeks. "That's enough" she whispered. Draco looked back at her. "Fine" he replied.

Then, the lake-side veiw and bright sun had vanished. It was replaced by a dully lit room with the pensive visible again. "What was that Granger?" Draco asked as soon as he found his balance. Hermione wiped the tears with her pajama shirt's sleeve, "I'm going to be honest. I don't know. It's a long story Malfoy and I'm not in the mood to discuss it right now." Hermione turned around and left the room. "Don't you dare go into that pensive again" she yelled.

She left the hallway and passed the common room to go up the staircase leading to her bedroom. Entering her bedroom she lied down in her bed. Not bothering to cover herself with her quilts. She stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours. Until finally, she fell asleep.

* * *

Draco, for some reason, listened to Hermione and didn't go near that pensive again. He couldn't believe he had gone into one of Hermione's memories. 'What did she mean by she didn't know what it was?' he thought. He shrugged it off and decided to figure things out in the morning. He left to the common room and turned off the lights. He left to his bedroom and fell asleep immediately.

a/n: I know this **_is _**better than the other one. I hope you guys like it! review please.


	2. My Business

a/n: here's another chapter to see if anything clears up.

Hermione sat in the Great Hall with Harry and Ron and was talking about the previous night. "So you're telling me, Mafoy say a memory that you had no idea occured in the first place which meant he saw something that happened in your life before you did?" Ron asked. Not completely sure on what he meant, Hermione nodded nonetheless. "It was weird. I saw something happen that seemed so fictional because I did not know any of those things happen before."

She looked over at the Slytherin table and noticed that Draco was not talking to any of his friends.He just let his fork wander around his plate aimlessly before he gave up on the attempt to eat at all. Hermione succeeded in finding a reason why Draco was acting in such a mannor. After last night, he must've been exhausted for it was extremely late. He must've been confused too because he had witnessed something in Hermione's life that Hermione didn't even know occured.

Hermione stood up. She told Harry and Ron that she had wanted to be early for classes. She left the Great Hall and looked around the enterance hall. She hadn't intended of going to class early at all. She quickly ran up the stairs and stopped at the portrait hole of her and Draco's living quarters. The small blond boy and the small brunette girl were fighting over the swing in the middle of the portrait. Hermione said the password. The portrait opened but the children continued to fight.

She ran to the hallway to the Pensive Room. Entering the room, she looked over the pensive but kept her distance.It was irritating her that she could not figure outwhy she was missing these memories and why she was having these creepy dreams. She felt as if she was losing her mind! She was sure there was something she had over looked. Or a detail she didn't pay attention to. She didn't know.

Looking at her watch, Hermione's eyes widened.She was totally late for class. She ran out of the room, left the hallway and left the common room at once. Leaving doors open, leaving lights on.

* * *

Draco sat in Transfiguration class and noticed Hermione was not present.Looking around the classroom, Hermione was no where to be seen. "Mr. Malfoy." Professor McGonagall in a firm voice, "Pay attention." "Sorry professor" Draco apologized. Then, as if on cue, Hermione burst into the class room,completely out of breath. "Ms. Granger. What is the meaning of your tartiness?" Professor McGonagall asked, eyebrows raised.Taking deep breaths, Hermione said, "I'm sorry professor. I got caught up in something." 

Professor McGonagall looked unconvinced but took the excuse. Hermione took her seat next to Susan Bones and hastily took out her notebook. Harry, who was across from Hermione's desk on the other side of the aisle looked at her and mouthed, "What happened?" "Nothing" she had mouthed back and started copying what was written on the board.

Draco, who was also on the other side of the aisle but two desks back of Harry, looked at Hermione as well, but made sure he didn't catch her attention. He wondered why she was late for class. She had left the Great Hall before everyone else and he was sure she was going to try and be early for classes. Blaise Zabini, who was on the other side of the classroom entirely, threw a paper airplane in Draco's direction and made sure it landed on Draco's desk.

While Professor McGonagall wasn't looking, Draco opened the note and read it.

_Draco, what the fuck are you looking at! You look like you're staring at Granger. If you are...STOP IT! It's grossing me out. Why would you look at **her **anyway? I don't care the reason, just stop grossing me out man!_

Draco frowned at the note. He looked over at Blaise and stuck his middle finger at him. When the period bell rang, Draco thought about going over to Hermione and asking her what was going on, but then he realized that the class was still too full, people might get suspicious. So instead of Draco going over to Hermione, Harry and Ron did.

"Hermione, I thought you left to be _early _for class. Not late." Harry said, walking on the right side of Hermione as Ron walked on her left. "I know...but...umm...I had to go back to my room. I...uh...forgot my...lip gloss?" Hermione said lamely, looking down at her feet while she walked. "Lip gloss? Since when do you where lip gloss?" Ron asked, puzzled. Hermione stopped walking and stood in front of her friends. "Look guys, I just had to go back to my room to get...something. No big deal really. I just lost track of time." With that, she walked the rest of the way outside to Care of Magical Creatures class.

"Did it look like she had lip gloss on?" Ron asked Harry, after a moment of silence. Harry looked at Ron, "Yeah. A little."

* * *

Draco sat on a boulder outside of the school with Blaise. They really disliked Care of Magical Creatures class but at least it gave them the chance to go outside of the school building. (or castle..whatever) "So, what were you looking at in class earlier? I swear, it looked like you were staring at Granger." Blaise said, as he rolled up his uniform shirt's sleeves. "What if I was? It wasn't like I was staring at her in admirisation" Draco snapped. 

Blaise raised his palms in surrender, "Okay, okay. No need to get snappy." Draco rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind." That was the second apology Draco had made today. Something was definately wrong with him. "I just don't understand why you would look at-" Blaise started and looked at Hermione as she passed by, "-_that._" Draco glared at Blaise. He took off his robes and rolled up his sleeves too.

"Here come the dumbasses" Blaise mumbled. Draco turned around and laughed because Blaise was talking about Crabbe and Goyle who was coming. Once Crabbe and Goyle joined in, Hagrid had stepped out of his hut and gathered the class around. Of course, Draco and his group stayed where they were. A good distance away from the class group. Draco looked over the group and his eyes landed on Hermione. She was whispering something to Harry and Ron who eventually caught up to her.

Draco suddenly had the urge to go over to Hermione and whisper with her. Draco gets urges to do a lot of things, but like every other time, he has to control himself and not do anything. Draco stood up on the boulder to see what creature Hagrid is going to have the class learn about. He saw something, but it was really small. It looked like a man only it's face looked permanately scrunched up, it's ears were pointed up like an elf's but Draco was sure this wasn't an elf. Also, the creature had what looked like bat wings.

Hagrid put the creature in his hand and held it up on his palm. "This, is an imp" he said. "The imps are a new race to the land, having only settled their relatively small territory in recent years. Not originally from this world, they are a race of escaped slaves who migrated from another realm. Of course, imps do have their strenth's and weaknesses. Imps are very strong at stealth, dark magic, thievin' and agility."

"Sounds useful enough" Blaise whispered to Draco. Draco chuckled and smirked at the information he was hearing about the small creature. "Although, as sly as these little fellers are, they aren' that good at direct combat, strenth' or constitution." Draco looked back at Crabbe and Goyle. Draco wasn't sure if the look on their face was a look of interest or a look of stupidity, just staring into space. "So what do you expect us to do with those?" Draco said aloud.

Some students, including Hermione, looked back at him. "Well, Malfoy, (Hagrid still wasn't used to naming his students with a Mister or Miss in front of their surname.) I expect you lot to each get yourselves an imp and observe 'em. You lot will watch 'em and see if they try to do anything mischievious, or try to steal anythin'. That is one of there strong points." Draco rolled his eyes at the task.

"You know Malfoy, maybe if you actually _tried _doing the assignment and not sit in the sidelines calling everything 'rediculous', you would probably get to _learn _something." Hermione said bluntly over her shoulder. Draco glared at her. "I don't need you telling me what to do so I can 'learn'." Draco snapped. Hermione stepped away from Harry and Ron, dispite their pleads not to do anything.

"Malfoy, maybe it hasn't occured to you that I'm just telling you participate because I actually wanna get through a lesson without you distracting everybody with your lazy attempts to act cool." Hermione retorted. Draco gave Crabbe his bookbag and stepped closer to Hermione. Draco was taller than Hermione but at the current moment, that did not matter. "You need to learn how to stay out of other people's business. Because if you don't, someone might get hurt." Draco said threateningly. Hermione didn't flinch. She did not blink. She stood her ground and showed that she wasn't afraid of Draco's empty threats.

"No Malfoy. It's _you _who needs to stay out of other people's business. You see something that you know has nothing to do with you, but you still go in and be nosy anyway. So basically, it's you who has to quit being nosy. What's my business is my business." Everyone could already tell this isn't about the lesson anymore. This is about something totally different.

"Look, just because I was curious about something I found doesn't mean I'm nosy." Draco said. Hermione narrowed her eyes while she looked at Draco. "Curiousity killed the cat" she said crisply. "Yeah, your cat" Draco laughed. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh grow up already" she cried. "I have grown up. Ever since my father was put in Azkaban, I _had_ to grow up. I didn't have the choice to stay the same. But look at you. You've been the same every year. Bookish, quite, nosy, and unsignificant." Draco also narrowed his eyes. When he looked into Hermione's eyes, he knew he had just hit the bulls-eye.

Hermione's face looked angry and brave, but he saw tears welling up at the corner of her eyes. Draco expected her to just walk away. She did. But before she did, she smacked him neatly across the face, leaving a sleek red mark on his cheek. She huffed and walked away. All the students in the class including Hagrid had stared at Draco, and watched for what would happen next.

Draco stayed standing, rooted to the spot. Hermione had slapped him so many times during their years at Hogwarts, so by now Draco was used to it. But it still hurt like hell! "Er...nothin' to see here. Let's get on wit the lesson now" Hagrid shooed the class in a different direction to try and start the lesson. Blaise looked at Draco and said, "Don't worry man. We'll get her, and when we do, we'll get her good." Draco shook his head. "No. That won't be...no...Don't do anything."

With that said, Draco took off as well.

* * *

Feeling highly heated and vulnerable at the same time, Hermione stood in the Pensive Room and stood over the pensive. About to look at a different memory, Hermione thought about what Draco had said to her that made her go off. _I have grown up. Ever since my father was put in Azkaban, I had to grow up. I didn't have the choice to stay the same. But look at you. You've been the same every year. Bookish, quite, nosy, and unsignificant._ She didn't know why but being called unsignificant by Draco stinged Hermione badly. 

Another tear went down Hermione's cheek. Shaking violently, Hermione went into the pensive and fell through it. She landed in a grey and overly lit room. Looking around, Hermione suspected it was a guidance councler's office. She was right. She saw two adult women and one small child come into the room. One of the adults was Hermione's mother. The other woman, the guidance councler, was an aging woman with black hair, greying at the roots. She had a black suit on and sat in front of a desk with the name tag on it that said "Lauren Cordaro" and under the name, in smaller letters, "Guidance Councler".

Hermione's mother and the letter girl Hermione assumed to be her younger self sat down in front of the desk. "Mrs. Granger, we have called you up today to discuss Hermione here. She's an extremely bright student, but there seems to be something wrong. She frightens the other students with this talk of 'breaking promises' or something like 'break your promise and she'll be out to get you'." explained Lauren Cordaro. Present Hermione heard her mother give a light gasp.

"I understand this. I understand because Hermione talks of the same subject at home. She scares me to peices when she talks of it. After her little friend was proclaimed missing, she began ranting on about promises and what will happen if you break them." Hermione's mother said worridly. The guidance councler looks and Young Hermione and asks, "Hermione, how old are you?" Young Hermione looks up from her fingers and half whispers, "I'm 7." Lauren nodds and writes something in a folder.

"Why do you always speak of promises and breaking them?" Lauren continues to ask. Young Hermione shrugs. Present Hermione is shocked at what she is witnessing. This actually happened when she was 7 years old? She had no idea this had happened at all!

"I don't know. I mean...I don't know. I've been having these dreams about a girl. She keeps telling me to keep my promise. But I don't know what she's talking about." Young Hermione says, and she looks down at her fingers again. "Honey, does this have anything to do with Virginia? I know she was a very close friend of yours and you were devastated when you found out she was missing." her mother said, taking hold of one of her hands.

Young Hermione looks at her mother, "Virginia? Missing? She ran away. At the park. Into the woods." she whispered. Her mother's eyes widened. "Hermione, if you knew about that, why didn't you say anything?" Young Hermione's eyes widened and covered her mouth. "Oh no! I promised her and I broke it." The guidance councler must be having a field day right now. She's scribbling things into a folder and occasionally looking up at Hermione.

"What did you promise her Hermione? Why is it so important that you keep this secret?" Lauren questioned as if she was a news reporter for the local newspaper. "I...I don't really remember. Something about parents. Her real mommy and daddy. She didn't want me to tell anybody for some reason. But it seemed urgent so I never did." Hermione didn't look at anybody. She looked ashamed.

* * *

Draco returned to the common room. He went up to Hermione's room but she wasn't there. Going back to the common room, Draco wondered where she could've gone to. Looking over his shoulder he remembered the Pensive Room. Although, after last night, he was terrified to go back. As scared as he was, Draco walked into the hallway of doors and went into the Pensive Room. It was empty. 

Slowly, he walked to the pensive and looked in it. Hermione was in there already, he could tell. As much as he didnt want to, Draco moved closer and entered the pensive. He fell through and landed on what felt like a coushion chair. He was in some kind of muggle office. He saw Hermione on the other side of the room. She didn't notice he was there yet.

He turned his attention to the memory that was taking place.

"Hermione, it's okay to tell someone. It's your responsibility to tell somebody." Hermione's mother said. Young Hermione shook her frizzy brown head. "No. If she finds out I broke her promise, she'll be mad. Oh so mad." she whispers. "Hermione, you still have her necklace don't you?" her mother says. Young Hermione nodds. "She gave it to me the day she left, I think. I don't really remember. But I have it. It's in the box under my bed."

"I think that covers enough for today" Draco says. Present Hermione jumps and gives a slight yelp. "What the hell are you doing here? I told you to stay out of my business." Hermione goes to Draco and grasps his shirt. Both of them exit the pensive and return back to Hogwarts. "How long have you been there?" she asks angrily. Draco shruggs. "I couldn't give an exact timing but-" "How long" Hermione yells. Draco is not scared by this. "Long enough" he replies.

Hermione starts screaming through gritted teeth, stamps her feet on the ground hard and pretty much has a temper tantrum. Her fits of anger turns into fits of sobs. "Why can't you just mind your own business? I need to figure this puzzle out alone. You will just distract me and make me so sick of even attempting of putting things together." Hermione says between sobs.

Draco watches this and feels a pang of guilt hit him in his chest. 'Why am I feeling guilty for...Granger?' he thought. _Maybe because it's trying to tell you something _says a voice inside Draco's head. He sighs and looks at Hermione who is still talking. "I would just like to get through a year of school without having to deal with your crap Malfoy. Why must you torture me?" she cries.

Draco takes Hermione by the shoulders and shakes her out of her tantrum daze. "Granger, calm down. Look, I get it. You wanna work this out on your own. Fine. I'll let you work it out. On. Your. Own." Draco let go of Hermione's shoulders and stalked out of the room, leaving to his bedroom. It was still afternoon but he must be tired. Hermione wouldn't blame him because she's tired as well. She left to her room and took a nap. When she awoke, she noticed her door was open. Which meant someone had gotten into her room.

'Malfoy' she thought bitterly. She wanted to get up but couldn't. She was still too tired. She would get him. Eventually.

a.n: long chapter. longest I have ever imaged myself writing. YAY. r&r. plz no flames


	3. Deal With the Devil

A/n: guys, u aren't reviewing. ur making me suggest that I should stop. plz guys review!

Waking up the next morning was hard for Hermione. Her muscles felt numb and her head hurt. The day before had really taken a lot out of her. Hermione sat up straight in her bed. She looked around the Gryffindor theme room. Scarlet carpeting with gold embroidering, red cotton comforter on her bed with a large lion in the middle. Everything seemed in order. Except for the open door that she had closed last night before going to bed.

Even though she didn't want to, Hermione got out of bed and put on her slippers. She walked down her staircase down to the common room. Still having a few stairs left, Hermione looked into the common room. It was not empty. Draco and Blaise were in there. Hermione backed up a couple of steps but still kept a distance left that she could hear what they were saying.

"You know Dray, I expected something to change this year" she heard Blaise say. Draco laughed. "Oh yeah? Like how?" he asked. "I don't know." Blaise answered truthfully. Then, Blaise looked over Draco's shoulder and saw a glimpse of a lock of curly, brown hair. Silently, Blaise nudged Draco's arm and whispered something to him. Draco looked over his shoulder and frowned, also seeing the lock of brown hair. He stood up and walked toward Hermione's staircase.

She heard footsteps coming to her. Hermione panicked. Trying to slip back up the stairs, one of her slippers fell off her foot. It rolled down to the foot of the stairs. She closed her eyes shut and stayed still.  
Draco saw the slipper come down. He picked it up and smirked. He put his foot on the first step. Then he started going up.

As Hermione heard the footsteps come up the stairs, she backed away up as well. With her eyes still closed, she tripped and landed on the upcoming step.  
Draco stopped going up the stairs once he saw Hermione fully. She was staying still on a step, eyes closed tightly. Draco couldn't help but smirk at this. "Granger, is there something you would like to tell me?" he drawled.

Hermione's eyes shot open. She looked up into the steely grey eyes of Draco Malfoy. She had been caught. She didn't know why, but she felt fear brew up inside her. She stood up, her knees shaking like twigs, and she reached out her arm to get her slipper. Draco let her have it. Once Hermione got her slipper, she turned slowly and thought she would be able to go back to her room.

"I'm not letting you off that easily Granger" Draco said venomously. Hermione froze. She kept her back to Draco. Through a silence between them, Hermione continued to go up to her room. When she got there, she closed the door.

Draco went up the stairs, taking two at a time and opened her door. Hermione was sitting on her bed, not looking her normal self. "Didn't I tell you yesterday that you should learn to mind your own business" Draco said in a voice so haunting to Hermione. "Get out of my room" Hermione whispered. "Wasn't I the one that had a row with you about whose nosy and who should mind their own business." Draco continued, ignoring Hermione.

"I said, get out of my room" she said a little louder. "And wasn't I the one who insisted that you would get hurt if you didn't learn to get out of other people's business" he kept going, making a threatening step closer to Hermione. She squirmed farther up her bed and brought her sheets to her chest. "And you know what else Granger? I was the one who got slapped because I called you names that suited you. And I was the one who was telling the truth. You are the nosy one."

Hermione mumbled something as she looked down at her sheets. "What?" Draco asked, seriously not hearing Hermione. "I said...I'm sorry" she repeated. Draco looked puzzled. Why was she apologizing? Why was she apologizing to Draco Malfoy? She looked up again and Draco saw that her face was streaked with tears. His face fell dramatically. 'Shit' he thought. "I'm sorry...that I hit you. I'm sorry..that I was mad over one little incident. And I'm sorry...if I made you feel embarrassed when I hit you." she kept on apologizing to Draco for things she thought she should apologize for.

"Wait, wait. Stop, stop." Draco said. Hermione stopped talking and looked up at him. "Why are you apologizing...to me?" he asked. She shrugged. "I don't know. My mum always taught me to apologized when you feel you need to." Draco scratched his head and looked in a different direction. Well didn't he feel stupid. "Malfoy, I know I'm nosy. It's in my blood. I just hate to admit it though. You have every right to hate me even more than you do already." she said softly.

Between Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, there was a deadly silence. Draco looked over at Hermione and stared into her blood-shot eyes. He had never thought that he would be feeling this uncomfortable around Hermione. After what felt like an eternity, Hermione removed her sheets and got out of bed. Her nightgown clinging to her legs, she reached Draco. "I'm going to do something. And don't freak out until after you leave my room." she warned. Unsurely, Draco nodded.

Hermione came closer to him and wrapped her arms around him. She placed her head on his chest for a few seconds before releasing him from her hug. She took this opportunity to slowly push the bewildered Draco out of her room. She closed the door and turned. Leaning her back on the door, she slid down to the floor. (hey, that rhymes!) What the hell did she just do?

* * *

Outside the door, where Draco stood wide eyed, he slowly made his way down the stairs and sat back on the couch where Blaise still sat. "What happened" Blaise asked. "She...she..." Draco stuttered. "She what?" he asked anxiously. "She hugged me" Draco finally let out. "What? She hugged you?" Blaise asked. Draco continued to stammer and nod. "Oh wow." Blaise chuckled. Draco stood up. "I'm going to my room" he said.

"Okay, but I'm going with you this time." Blaise said.  
The two boys went up the opposite staircase from Hermione and left the common room empty.

Hermione sat in front of her vanity table and brushed her hair. She wasn't really crazy about her hair, but after taming it a little so it was brushable, ( i doubt thats a word) she wanted to just keep it healthy so it wouldn't go back to it's former frizzy self. As she brushed her hair, she wondered what she had done to Draco. 'I hugged him. But why? Why did I hug him?' she thought to herself. Maybe because you wanted to? said a voice inside her head. 'NO! This is Draco Malfoy we're talking about.'

That's it. Hermione was going crazy. She was having an argument with herself for heavens sake! Hermione put the brush down and went to her closet. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. Laying them on the bed, she grabbed her towel and robe and made her way down to the bathroom. When she got to the common room, she found herself a little disappointed at the sight that Draco and Blaise were not there.

She went through the door to the right of Draco's staircase and locked the door. The large marble bathroom gleamed when Hermione turned the light on. The light bulbs around the bathroom mirror shined brightly. Hermione went over to the shower, passing the (practically) pool sized bath tub. She turned on the water and stepped in. She left the warm water fog up the glass door and relax her tense muscles.

* * *

Draco and Blaise sat in Draco's Slytherin theme bedroom. The room was just like Hermione's room only everything was in Slytherin colors and had serpents everywhere instead of lions. Draco heard the faint noise of running water. 'She's taking a shower. She must be going somewhere' he thought. "Did you know Weasley and Granger are seeing each other?" Blaise said, looking at Draco's writing desk.

Draco's head snapped when he looked at Blaise. "What?" Blaise nodded with his back still to Draco. "For years. Haven't you noticed?" 'Fucking weasel' Draco thought darkly. "Well...I guess. But I don't waste my time noticing who the mudblood is dating." Draco spat. Blaise laughed. "That's true, I guess." Draco lied back on his back, staring at the ceiling of his four poster bed.

Blaise turned around and saw his friend sprawled out on his bed. "What's up Dray?" he asked, taking one of Draco's chairs, turning it backwards and sitting on it. "Nothing Blaise. Just...bored." Draco lied. Blaise looked around the room. He took a balled up parchment and threw it at Draco's head. Bulls-eye. It hit Draco directly at the side of his forehead. Draco glared at him from the corner of his eye. "Fuck you, okay" Draco said.

"Okay, I'm serious now. What has gotten you so up tight." Blaise asked. "I told you. Boredom." Blaise shook Draco by his ankle. "Then let's go find some sluts" he chuckled. "Not in the mood" Draco mumbled. Blaise gave a mock gasp. "What? Draco Malfoy, the Sex God of Slytherin is turning down sex? You must be sick." Blaise placed his hand on Draco's forehead and laughed. Draco swatted Blaise's hand away. "It's nothing funny. Now shut up."

Blaise sat back down in the chair. "Whatever man. It's your call, I guess." The faint sound of running water stopped. 'She's out' Draco announced in his head. "Come on Dray. Let's go downstairs." Blaise managed to get Draco to stand up. The two left Draco's bedroom and started to walk down the stairs. The common room was still empty. Draco sat down on the couch and Blaise sat on the arm rest.

* * *

Hermione stepped out of the shower and wrapped her towel around her body. She took another towel that was supplied in the room and started drying her hair. Drying her body a little more, she put on her robe. She put the towel that was once around her body in her left arm and continued to dry off her hair with the towel in her right arm.

As if she didn't see them, Hermione passed Blaise and Draco who were still on the couch in the common room. The two boys smirked and Blaise let out a wolf whistle. Hermione jumped and the towels fell to the floor. She tightened her robe and picked up the fallen towels. "Don't do that to me. Or one of these days I swear I'll-" "-Bore me by reading a book in front of me?" Blaise suggested, laughing.

Hermione rolled her eyes and mumbled "Immature" as she went up her staircase. She pulled on her clothes and blow dried her hair. She put on her black trainers and pulled on her jean jacket. She left her room and jogged back downstairs. "Where are you going Granger?" Draco called after her. "None of your business" Hermione called back. Blaise couldn't help but laugh at this.

She left the common room and jogged around the hallways. She went outside and walked over to Hagrid's Hut. There, she saw Harry, Ron and Hagrid talking outside of the hut. "Hey guys!" Hermione yelled, waving her arm. Hagrid sees her over Harry and Ron and waves back. "Well hello Hermione. How's live been treatin ya?" Hagrid asks cheerfully. Hermione smiles and says hi to Harry and Ron.

"How's living with Malfoy going?" Harry asks. Hermione rolls her eyes. "Nothing special. After our little spat yesterday, we fought this morning on the same subject." she explained. She tried her best to make it sound horrible. So she kept out her apologizing to him and hugging him. "I feel bad for you Hermione. Having to live with the 'amazing-bouncing-ferret.'" Ron said. Hermione laughed. "Don't worry. I'm living."

"You sure he hasn't touched you 'Mione?" Harry asked. Sighing, she nodded. "Don't you think I would noticed if he had touched me? Unless he touched me while I was sleeping." She saw Ron puff up a little. "Ron, I was kidding. Calm down." Ron pouted and looked away. "Well Hermione, after you and Malfoy's spat yesterday, everyone seemed a bit distracted for the rest of the lesson. The imps didn't mind it though.." Hagrid said. He looked behind the log he was sitting on and scratched his head.

"Did one of yous seen me waterin can?" he asked. Harry, Ron and Hermione looked around from their seats and shook their heads. Hermione looked over the pumpkin patch and giggled. "Err...Hagrid, I think I found it." She pointed near the pumpkin patch where an imp was running away with Hagrid's watering can. "Oi! Come back 'ere you little-" Hagrid got up and started running across the pumpkin patch, leaving the trio laughing.  
Ron put his arm around Hermione to hold himself up from falling.

Blaise had taken Draco outside of the castle to find something to do. They walked passed Hagrid's Hut and noticed the Trio. Draco defiantly noticed Ron's arm around Hermione. For some reason, he grew angry. Or..maybe even...jealous? 'No, I can't be jealous of Weasley. Why would I be jealous of him?' Draco thought.

_Maybe because he is the one holding Hermione and not you?_ that voice inside Draco's head said.  
No. Draco was not jealous. He couldn't be. Not of Ron. "What are you looking at Dray?" Blaise asked. Draco, not pulling his eyes away from Hermione, shook his head. "I told you, Granger and Weasley were at it" Blaise chuckled. "Shut up" Draco said, stalking off with his hands in his pockets and head low.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione's laughs died down slowly and Harry stood up on the rock he was sitting on. Watching Hagrid chase the imp around in circles was pretty funny to look at. "Looks like this might take a while" Harry said, jumping down from the rock. After a few minutes of waiting, Hermione stood. "Guys, I have to get back to the castle. I'm gonna have to do my rounds soon."

"Have Malfoy do it" Ron said. Hermione frowned. "Ron, Hogwarts is a big school. I can't have Malfoy go around, checking everything by himself." "Since when do you care?" he shot back. Hermione thought for a minute. "Well...I don't. I just want to do something tonight instead of just sitting around, doing nothing." With that said, she left, jogging back to the castle. She ran up to the portrait hole.

Hermione was expected the two children inhabiting the portrait to be fighting. Although, it was quite the opposite. The little girl was sitting on the swing in the middle of the portrait and the little boy was farther behind in the portrait so he looked really small. "Err...Hatred?" Hermione said. The little girl lifted her brown haired head and nodded.

The portrait hole opened and Hermione entered. She went up to her room, quickly threw her robes over her attire and went down and back up the other staircase to Draco's room. Knocking on his door, she received no answer. She went back downstairs and literally ran into Draco. Both hit each other so hard, they both fell to the floor.

Draco was the first one to get up. Hermione stayed on the floor and massaged her ankle. "Make sure you're not hurt because if you are, it won't be on my account" Draco said. Looking up at him, Hermione winced in pain. He sighed. Draco outstretched his hand and Hermione took it. He helped her up to her feet. "I thought you were out with Potter and Weasley" Draco made sure he added extra venom when he said Ron's last name.

"I was, but then I decided to come in and do my rounds." Draco crossed his arms, rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Yeah right." he mumbled. "Yeah. Right. Ron suggested I stay with him and Harry and have you do the rounds all by yourself. I stood up and said no. Because I didn't want you to search the whole school by yourself. So don't look at me like I'm a lying bitch. I'm not." Inside, Draco felt guilty, but he didn't show it. He made sure of that.

After an awkward silence, Hermione finally said, "Are we going to do our rounds or what?" She turned and walked toward the portrait hole, ready to leave. Draco followed. Once they got out into the hall, they separated, going in different directions.

Draco wandered around the hallways from his floor, down and Hermione wandered the hallways from her floor, up. Hermione turned a corner and saw the Ravenclaw portrait hole. A few Ravenclaws entered through it and waved goodbye to their friends from other houses. She didn't say anything. She passed the students silently and looked around.

The walls filled with portraits wizards and witches, some of the people inhabiting the portraits were snoozing and others were engrossed in their own personal conversations. After a while, Hermione's feet got tired. She stopped at the foot of the sixth floor staircase and sat down. "...And in my opinion, I think it's rubbish really! I mean she should get the hint by now" said the oh-so familiar voice of Ron.

Ron and Harry were walking toward the staircase Hermione was sitting at. "I mean, she's supposed to be smart, isn't she? She should learn how to take a hi-" Ron was cut off by Harry nudging him to warn him of Hermione up ahead. "Hey guys" she said as her friends stopped in front of her. "'Mione, what are you doing?" Harry said , laughing at her current state.

"Rounds" she simply said. "Don't rounds involve walking?" Ron laughed. "Ha-ha" Hermione said, sarcastically. She stood up and straightened her robes. "Well, I'm going to finish up. See you at dinner" she said before waving goodbye to her friends. She walked around the hallways for a long time before she decided to go back to the common room.

* * *

She entered the common room and saw that Draco was on the couch, reading a book. "It's about time you got back" he said, eyes still on the book. "Well sorry. I had the larger rout since you only had like...four floors to check." she said, breathing heavily. "And, don't you ever get off that couch?" Draco marked the page he was at in the book and closed it.

He stood up and put the book away. "There. I'm off the couch." Rolling her eyes at his immatureness, Hermione went upstairs and threw herself on her bed. She thought about what she had overheard Ron say. _"...And in my opinion, I think it's rubbish really! I mean she should get the hint by now"_ and _"I mean, she's supposed to be smart, isn't she? She should learn how to take a hint"_

Was he talking about her? Well of course he was. This year, Ron had never made it so obvious that he had liked her. If it was so obvious, how come she didn't even notice? She didn't wanna hurt Ron's feelings but Hermione was just not feeling Ron like that. They were best friends and he drove her crazy. He was more like a little brother to her.

'I know I have to tell him' she thought, 'But how can I tell him without hurting him?' Thinking about this for a minute, she thought of something but turned it down. "Damn, this is hard" she said out loud. Then, she thought of something again. She went downstairs and turned around to Draco's room. She knocked on his door quickly.

He opened it and asked, "May I help you?" "Malfoy, you wanna help me out?" she asked hopefully. Draco snickered. "Let's put it this way...No." He attempted to close the door but Hermione kept it open. "Please Malfoy. I could really use your help." Draco scoffed. "I thought you wanted to work on your little project by yourself." Shaking her head, she said "No, no. Not that. Look, Ron likes me, I don't like him, I don't wanna hurt his feeling and I need someone to help me."

Draco crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. "What do you expect me to do? Have me tell him you don't fancy him and he should get over it." 'Maybe that would work' Hermione thought but she pushed it out of her mind. "Er...well...do anything. Just don't hurt him–physically." she added the last part quickly once she saw Draco smirk. "Well, what's in it for me?" he asked. "Whatever you want" she said. Thinking about it, Draco answered before he could stop it. "I wanna help you do your project." He clasped his hands over his mouth.

"You? You wanna help me?" Hermione repeated unbelievably. Slowly, he nodded. "It would take you years to figure it out by yourself." Shaking her head in disbelief, she said "Wait? Why do you care if it takes me years? Why do you care in general?" He shrugged. "I think I could be useful. And I think there's something connected between that blond girl and that necklace she gave you."

Immediately, Hermione remembered the necklace. She still had it. It was in a little box, in her trunk, under her bed. That's where she always kept it: under her bed. "Okay" Hermione said in a low voice. "Pardon?" "I said...okay. You can help me if you want. Just don't fuck it up." Hermione was about to turn to leave but turned around to face Draco once more. "Oh and Malfoy, thanks." She turned around again and went down the stairs.

Once Hermione had reached her bedroom, she realized what she had just done. 'I think I just made a deal with the devil.'

a/n: this took me so long to do! Omg, so dam long! I hope u like it. REVIEW PLEASE!


	4. Draco Gets His Ass Kicked

"Hermione, you haven't touched your food. Are you ok?" Harry asked during breakfast. With a day-dreamy stare, Hermione nodded lazily. "I'm just not hungry" she breathed. She could tell Ron was staring at her even though he was eating. She glanced over at the Slytherin table and saw Draco whispering something to Blaise.

Blaise laughed at something Draco had said but she assumed Draco didn't find it funny. "Whatcha lookin at 'Mione" Ron asked. He tried to follow where Hermione's eyes were looking at and he found himself looking at Draco. "You're not looking at Malfoy now, are you?" Hearing that, Hermione snapped out of her trance. "What? No, no. Look, I'll be right back. I wanna be early for class."  
"Yeah, just don't be late" Ron joked. Hermione gathered herself up and started walking toward the oak doors.

Draco saw Hermione leave. He wondered whether she left to actually be early for class or be late by taking a trip to the Pensive Room. Then his eyes wandered to Ron. Talking and laughing with Harry and his fellow Gryffindors. He remembered his deal with Hermione he had struck the previous night. He smirked and stood.

"Where you heading Dray?" Blaise asked. Looking back with his smirk still on his face, Draco shook his head. He walked up to Ron at the Gryffindor table and already, parts of the student body watched. "What do you want Malfoy" Harry spat. "It has nothing to do with you Potter. I came to talk to the Weasley." Draco shot back.

Ron looked up and reddened. "Whatever it is, I don't wanna hear about it" Ron said bluntly. "So, you're saying you don't wanna hear about your precious Granger?" He had looked away from Draco, but once he heard Hermione's name, he turned his head to face the blond once more. "What about her?" His smirk growing bigger, Draco said, "Well, me and Granger had a nice little chat yesterday and she wanted me to tell you that she doesn't fancy you. So your little crush on her is a waste because it's not gonna happen."

Ron stood up and faced Draco. "Liar!" Draco crossed his arms, "Weasley, I wouldn't give a flying rat's ass if she liked you or not. But we put on a little wager. I tell you what she wanted to tell you and I get whatever I want from her." Draco had a plan to make Ron go ballistic. He raised his eyebrow suggestively. "Whatever you want?" Ron asked worriedly. "Whatever I want" Draco repeated, smirk at its largest.

"You wouldn't" Ron said, face stricken with fear. "I don't know what your talking about. Well, now that my half of the bargain was done, it's about time I go fetch my rewards." He turned around and strutted out of the Great Hall, leaving Ron is the worst state.

* * *

Hermione sat in Transfiguration class, being the only one there. Then she heard the door open and close. She turned around and saw Draco walking in her direction. "What are you smirking at?" she chuckled. "I think I might've left your little boyfriend devastated." Draco drawled. Hermione knew what he was talking about. "What did you say?" He was silent for a moment or two before he finally spoke. "I told him the facts. You didn't fancy him so he should get over it because it's not gonna happen. Nothing much." 

Smiling, Hermione punched Draco's arm playfully. "And what did he do?" she asked. She was listening carefully, wanting to know the details. Draco gave a one shouldered shrug and said "Nothing. He just stood there, gaping like a fish. He called me a liar too." Hermione was starting to laugh. "Oh my gosh. Poor Ron." "Poor Ron? Poor me! I'm the one who's feelings got hurt" Draco said in a mock sobbing noise.

Hermione laughed louder and harder but stopped abruptly once she heard the door open. She and Draco looked back at the rest of the class that were entering the room. With Harry and Ron in the front of the group, Hermione was at her reddest. Draco stood up and ran to his seat as if it made any difference. Ron looked hurt, he looked away and walked to his seat in silence. Harry followed him. The rest of the class entered in whispers, looking at Hermione and Draco.

Susan Bones took her seat next to Hermione and stared at her. "What are you looking at" she snapped. Susan immediately looked away. Professor McGonnagal appeared into the room and walked to the front. She tapped the chalkboard with her wand and the lesson appeared on the board. "Okay class. Today we will be reviewing on our last Transfiguration lesson. Let's see how much you've improved on turning your whistles into watches."

Searching her school bag, Hermione took out her whistle and her wand. Professor McGonnagal was certainly having a field day. The whole class was in whispers and kept on staring at Hermione and Draco instead of their work. To her classmates' surprise, Hermione was unable to turn her whistle into a watch. She has done it before but her mind was being blurred by the whispering and talking and staring.

When the period bell rang, Hermione and Draco thought it was the most relieving sound in the world. They grabbed their things and ran for the door. Unknowing that the other students were talking about this as well. As Hermione and Draco ran, they seemed to have been running at the same pace so they were running shoulder to shoulder. "What you got next?" Draco asked as he continued to run. "Potions" Hermione replied. Draco cursed under his breath and the two ran in the same direction for their next class.

By lunch, Hermione did not go. She couldn't go into the Great Hall and have the whole school whisper behind her back. Although Draco felt the same, he still attended lunch. He was hungry, he couldn't help it. He didn't feel like eating from the kitchen in his living quarters. When he was done eating, he stood up and walked toward the oak doors.  
"Oi, Malfoy!" Draco turned around and saw an angry looking Ron coming toward him. "What do you want Weasel-Bee" Draco drawled. Without saying anything, Ron punched him in the face. Stumbling backwards, Draco touched his bloody nose. Enraged, he shot back. He punched Ron in the stomach. Wincing in pain and bending over slightly to cover his stomach, Ron wouldn't give up. He stood up straighter and took Draco into a head-lock.

"What the fuck did I do to you Weasley!" Draco said, gasping for breath. For the time being having Draco in this position gave Ron the opportunity to continue punching Draco in the face and stomach. "You...took...my...girl!" Ron said in between punches. "She was never your girl. She didn't even like you!" Draco somehow managed to get out of Ron's head-lock. He shoved him to the floor. While Ron was on the floor, he gripped Draco's ankles and brought him down too.

A huge circle was around the two fighters. Ron brought Draco's arms behind his back and twisted them. He pushed him to the floor and let him fall on his arms...hard. No one thought Ron was that, that mad. But apparently he was. He took out his wand and pointed it at Draco. "Ron, don't!" Ginny yelled in the background.

* * *

On her way to her next class, Hermione heard a faint cheering coming from the Great Hall. She went down there and saw a huge circle around something. She pushed her way through and saw Draco and Ron fighting, both looking hurt and bloody. It looked like Ron had gotten onto Draco who was on the floor and was punching him with all his might. 

"Ron! What the fuck are you doing!" Hermione ran over to Ron and pulled him off of Draco. "Ron, have you lost your damn mind?" she scolded, her face pink with fury. "I can't believe you would do this." She went over to Draco and bent over him. His faced was bruised and bloody. His hair was all messed up and his eyes were closed. Hesitantly, Hermione touched his cheek. "Oh my God" she whispered.

She took Draco's arm and draped it around her neck. She picked him up with all her strength. "Wait. I'll help." She looked out into the crowd and saw Blaise push through. He took Draco's other arm and helped Hermione drag Draco to the hospital wing. "Hermione wait!" Ron called. "Piss off, Ron" she called back.

* * *

Draco woke up in the hospital wing the next morning. He looked around and saw that his right arm was in a cast. 'What happened yesterday?' He tried to sit up but then the back of his head gave off an immense pain. He winced and lied back down. Then, he remembered what had happened the day before. 'Oh great. Now I'm gonna be known as the punk that got his ass whipped by the weasel.'

* * *

Hermione headed to the hospital wing again. She had gone earlier to check up on Draco but he was still asleep. She opened the doors and saw an empty room and only one occupied bed. She walked over to Draco's bed and looked at him. His right arm in a cast, a white cloth patch over his cheek, a red mark on his lip, a black eye and his face was bruised all over. 

"M-Malfoy?" Hermione stammered. Draco slowly turned his head to look at Hermione. "What?" he asked tiredly. "How are you feeling?" she asked. Rolling his eyes, he answered, "Oh just brilliant. I always feel cheery to wake up in a hospital bed with my arm in a cast and pain all over." Looking down at her laced fingers, Hermione didn't speak.

"Is there a point to your visit?" Draco asked. "I-I just wanted to say...feel better. When I saw Ron...well...you know, I was furious. I refuse to talk to him now." "I guess he liked you more than we thought." he chuckled lightly. A small smile crept onto Hermione's face. "Yeah, but Ron is also known to blow things out of proportion."

"Look, Malfoy, I'm really sorry for what happened. I was so worried that you would hurt Ron, I didn't even think about Ron hurting you." Seeing guilt in Hermione's face seemed to pain Draco even more. It wasn't her fault he had gotten beaten into a pulp. "You know, when you're feeling better, we can get started" she whispered. "What?" "A deal is a deal Malfoy. You told Ron I didn't like him. So now you get to help me uncover this mystery."

Draco gave a small smirk. "I guess to help you, I have to go through the pain." Hermione laughed and sat at the edge of the bed.

The two sat there in the hospital wing for who knows how long. In that time, both of them learned new things about the other. When Hermione left, she couldn't stop the feeling of butterflies in her stomach. For Draco, she didn't know how she felt. She was having mixed feelings. The person she was talking to just now wasn't the Draco she had once known.  
She had once known a vile, nasty, self centered person. Although, the person she was talking to was calm, thoughtful of what he said and was humorous. Malfoy wasn't like that. Draco was.

* * *

A week later, September was about to end. Draco was better and Hermione still refused to talk to Ron, much to his disliking. "It was absolutely despicable how he would do that. Sinking down that low. Until he apologizes, I'm not talking to him" Hermione had said one day to Harry. "He has apologized to you a million times." 

Wagging a finger in front of Harry, she said "Oh no, not to me." She pointed at Draco across the room. "To him. I'm not the one he injured." Harry sighed and left to go sit with Ron.

* * *

That night, Hermione was looking for Draco around the halls. He had not been in the common room all day. She went down to the dungeons and searched for the Slytherin portrait hole. Then she saw it. It was a portrait of Salazar Slytherin himself. He grimaced at the sight of Hermione. "Be gone, muggle-born" the portrait said. "I'm looking for Draco Malfoy." she said, ignoring the rudeness of the portrait. 

"The Malfoy boy?" Hermione nodded hopefully. Still with a frown on his face, Salazar replied, "The Malfoy boy has neither entered nor exited this house. Now, be gone." Frowning, Hermione turned and walked away. She returned to the common room and found Draco sitting on the couch reading...again. "It's about time" he said, laughing. Hermione put her hands on her hips. "Where have you been. I had to face Salazar Slytherin down in the dungeon looking for you." Draco closed the book with his left hand (his right was still on a cast) and put the book down.

He stood and opened the door to the left of Hermione's staircase. "You ready?" he asked. Hermione smiled and went through the door with Draco behind her. They entered the Pensive Room and went to the pensive. The butterflies were returning to Hermione's stomach. For the first time, she was not angered that Draco was coming into the pensive with her. Closing in on the silver substance, Hermione and Draco found themselves falling. They landed in a house. Hermione's house to be exact. In her living room.

It was dark outside and the t.v. and the light in the kitchen in the next room was the only source of light. Young Hermione was sitting on the beige carpeted floor in front of the t.v. Hermione's parents were sitting on the grey couch. A polished, wood coffee table separated the adults from the child.

"What are they watching?" Draco asked. Present Hermione peered at the glowing t.v. and watched.

"It was recently reported that a seven-year-old girl that goes by the name of Virginia Ariel Spring was claimed missing yesterday." said a female anchorwoman. "The young girl is three feet and six inches tall, platinum blond hair and grey eyes. She is probably wearing a silver necklace with a red heart and the letter 'V' on it. If you have any reports on the sighting of this child, please contact this number." The t.v. showed the Spring's telephone number at the bottom of the screen.

"It's a shame" Hermione's mother said. "Virginia was such a nice girl." "But what happened? Was she kidnaped?" asked Hermione's father. Her mother shrugged. "No one knows. She just...disappeared." "No one can just disappear mommy" said Young Hermione."What do you mean?" she asked. "What I mean is, Gingy couldn't just disappear like magic. She either ran away or got kidnaped." Then she turned back to face the t.v.

Her mother and father exchanged worried looks and stayed silent. "I actually spoke to my parents like that?" Present Hermione asked. From the couch, her father turned off the t.v., "Hey princess, how about we get to bed?" Young Hermione stood up and so did her father. She took went by his side and started going up the flight of stairs that lead to her room.

Present Hermione and Draco followed. Walking into her room, Hermione gasped. It was so different from the room she had remembered. She remembered a pink room with glitter everywhere and the pink feather boas she used to play dress-up with. Not to mention the posters of her favorite music artists and the boys she found cute.

This room she was standing in was not that room at all. A dark shade of red walls and posters of rock bands that Hermione didn't like and even didn't know about. Glitter was gone. Feather boas were gone. 'Now I know why I had to sleep in the guest room for a whole month and a half when I was 8.' She watched her father tuck in her seven-year-old self into a bed with a dark green quilt. "Damn Granger. What happened here?" Draco asked.

Her mouth open and head shaking, Hermione walked around in circles in the room. 'What did happen here?' She suddenly heard speaking. She looked over at the bed. Her father was bent over, giving Hermione a kiss on her forehead. "What do you want to do tomorrow?" he asked Young Hermione, crouching down to her height on the bed. "I don't know." replied the young one. A smile formed on her father's face. "Well then, don't worry about it. We'll do something fun. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep dad. If you make a promise, you can't break it. You know what happens when you break a promise?" Eyebrows furrowed in confusion, her father shook his head. "If you break a promise, someone is gonna make you pay for your lie. In other words, something really bad is gonna happen." Right now, her father was officially creeped out.  
He kissed his daughter again. "Goodnight sweety." He turned off the light and closed the door.

Draco looked at Hermione. She was still in the state of unbelieving. He went over to her and touched her arm. Then her eyes suddenly snapped over to him. "You okay?" he asked. She bit her lip. Then, they were spat out of the pensive. Back in the empty room, Hermione was silent. "Granger." She looked up at Draco. He walked over to her. "I have something to tell you. But I'm not gonna tell you now. You look tired. You should get some sleep."

Noding, Hermione went to leave the room with Draco behind her. "Night" Draco said as he left to his bedroom. "Goodnight...Draco" Hermione whispered after him. Smiling a little, she went to her bedroom. She changed into her pajama's and climbed into bed. Hoping tonight she would get a peaceful sleep. But no such thing happened.

Hours later, Hermione was tossing and turning in bed again. Nightmares kept entering her mind.  
She was running through the familiar wood she had ran through before. The familiar chanting of the horrible voice that haunted her. Only it wasn't the promise chanting. It was the 'Miss Mary Mack' song Virginia used to sing. Only, the words. The words were different.

"Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack... all dressed in black, black, black. She has a knife, knife, knife... stuck in her back, back, back...she can not breathe, breathe, breathe...she can not cry, cry, cry...that's why she begs, begs, begs...she begs to die, die, die..."  
Hermione had fallen again. Again stuck to the floor. The singing is getting louder. She covered her eyes and closed her eyes shut. "Stop it!" she screamed. "Stop it! I didn't do anything!" The singing stopped. Relieved, Hermione uncovered her ears. But then, a powerful wind started. Leaves and branches passed and hit Hermione on her arms and face.

"Hermione, Hermione. I ask you to keep a promise but you stab me in the back. So let's see how you feel when I make your whole world go black" the loud voice started saying. "It's time for payback my witchy friend. Enjoy your life before I make it end!" Now crying, Hermione covered her ears again. "I found my destiny, you found your fate. Now because of you, my whole life is full of hate!"  
Sobbing hysterically now, Hermione screamed "Stop, stop! I didn't do anything." As if her words meant nothing, the voice continued its rhyme. "I enjoy my life though, here at home. With friends that aren't you, that understand when I wanna be left alone! But now I feel dead, do you know what would make me whole? One part of your blood, and two parts of your soul."  
Then everything faded to black...

"Granger, Granger wake up!" Hermione, who was in her bed, shaking and crying and screaming hysterically, woke up when she heard Draco's voice. She was covered in sweat and her eyes were bloodshot. "What?" Draco looked at Hermione with the strangest face. "You were screaming all night. Then I heard singing this creepy song." 'Oh no' she thought. 'He heard me!'

Then Hermione started crying again. Not knowing what she was doing, she embraced Draco and cried on his shoulder. "It was horrible Draco, just horrible! I keep on having different versions of the same dream every time!" Draco, who was still amazed at Hermione who had called him by his first name, let her cry on his shoulder. She must've been really scared.

"I know this may seen absurd coming from me but you can't just bottle up everything like that. You have to tell someone. Even me for all I care! This is what's gonna happen if you bottle it up all the time. You're gonna explode on the first person you see." Tears still coming down her cheek, Hermione sniffed and nodded. She let go of Draco and looked at him. "Sorry." He shook his head. He looked around and grabbed her towel.

Throwing it at her, he said "I think you should take a bath. For both of our sake." She laughed. She got out of bed and followed Draco out of the bedroom. "Draco" she said. He looked back at her once he reached the common room. "Yeah?" "Thank you. For...you know...letting me explode on you." He laughed and said, "Don't mention it. Literally. Blaise would kill me if he found out." Smiling, she rolled her eyes.  
She entered the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

* * *

Draco went back into his bed but was unable to sleep. The picture of Hermione's weeping face kept popping into his head. He really didn't want to see that. Seeing her upset made him upset. His head and his heart were saying two different things to him. His heart was saying that he has strong feelings for Hermione and that he should let her know. But his head was saying that he should remember: he was a Malfoy. And Malfoys do not fall in love with people like Hermione. 

Mixed feelings were invading his entire body. 'Oh what in the world will I do?'

A/n: REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!


	5. Halloween Ball

A/n: finally! i get some reviews!

By the middle of October, Hermione acted strange around Draco. She would turn hot pink, smile and burry herself in a book.  
In the common room, Hermione was reading a novel by her favorite author. Draco came down the stairs and looked at the bulletin board. He took a piece of paper off of it and read it. "Halloween Ball is coming" he murmured. "What?" Hermione closed the book and looked back. Draco passed the paper to her. "Looks like we're gonna have to get the ball going." Reading the notice, Hermione nodded.

Draco stared at her, just to see what she'd do. She looked up at him. She smiled and looked back down. "Err...I'm gonna go upstairs and brainstorm." she said. She left the notice and went to her room. Draco followed her. When she got to her bedroom door, she laughed. "May I help you?" she asked. "We're supposed to work together on the balls. Remember?" She, Hermione, indeed remembered what Professor McGonagall had told them on the trip to Hogwarts September first.

"Right...I forgot." she covered lamely. She let Draco come into her room. He had seen her room many times before. She walked to her writing desk and pulled out a chair. She sat down and pulled out the extra chair to let Draco sit as well. Hermione stood again and walked to her trunk that was at the foot of her bed. She rummaged through it and pulled out pieces of parchment. When she sat again, she started to write something on her parchment. "You already had ideas?" Draco asked.

Smiling, Hermione shook her head. "No silly. I'm writing the topics that we'll need to cover for the ball. So far I got refreshments, entertainment, decorations, costumes..." "Costumes?" "Yeah. I mean it is gonna be a Halloween Ball. So we're gonna have to dress up." Shrugging, Draco stayed silent and thought. "Well we're gonna get refreshments from The Three Broomsticks right?" he asked after a few minutes. "Uh huh...hey, can we get a muggle band?" Draco raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me? If they're gonna be muggles, they can't get into the building."

Biting her lip, she responded, "Can't we just erase their memory when they leave?" Draco laughed and shrugged. "Whatever. You chose the band." Hermione scribbled something on her parchment and thought once more. "Decorations should be the regular Halloween decorations we get every year right?" Draco asked. Hermione let the feather of her quill roam around her chin. "Hmmm...We should change it up this year. You know, since it's our seventh year." Liking the idea, Draco nodded. "Okay."

"What is it gonna look like?" She whispered something in his ear and he started laughing. "You're not serious." She nodded her head, "I am." "Oh my God. That really is different." Hermione smiled so big, her straight white teeth showed.

* * *

Ron and Harry sat in the Gryffindor common room, also figuring out about the Halloween Ball. "Do you think she's gonna go with me if I ask?" Ron asked. "Ron, I'm gonna be honest. No." Harry replied, sprawled out on the one person couch.

"It's been long enough. She couldn't be mad at me still." Harry shook his head. "Ron, if you want her to talk to you, you have to apologize to Malfoy." Ron put on a face of disgust and said, "Why? What did I do to him?" "Umm..I don't know. Maybe you beat him so hard he had to be in the hospital wing for days and his arm is in a cast!" "But..Why would Hermione care?" Harry shrugged.

"Who knows. But for whatever reason it may be, she will not talk to you if you don't apologize to him." Ron crossed his arms and pouted childishly. "It doesn't even matter really. Even if you do apologize to Malfoy, I bet Hermione would still be upset at you. And what if...never mind." Curious, Ron looked at Harry. "What?" Harry shook his head, not wanting to finish what he was saying. "Harry!"  
Looking tense, Harry responded, "What if Malfoy was telling the truth? What if Hermione really doesn't like you?" "Not really what I want hear mate" Ron said, before departing to the dormitory.

* * *

_**The night before the ball...**_

"Put it up there" Hermione advised the Hufflepuff prefect who was helping her decorate the Great Hall. She and Draco informed Professor Dumbedore of the change of decoration for the ball. He was pleased that someone had finally suggested something different for the ball. Still a Halloween theme, there had to be a lot of black and orange.

Smiling at the progress she and the prefects were making, she had not heard Draco call her for a second. After the third time he had called her name, she turned around. "What is it?" she asked. He looked around the Great Hall at the decorations and looked back at her. "I think we should call it a night. It's almost done right?" Yawning a little, Hermione nodded. "Okay." She rounded the prefects and told them that they could go.

"It's looking good" Draco complemented as he and Hermione headed back to the common room. "Thanks" she said. At the portrait hole, the two children were not bickering or silent. In fact, Hermione guessed that they were taking turns on the swing in the middle. "How cute" she said, smiling at the picture. "Umm..." was all Draco could come up with. Hermione said the password and the two entered the common room.

"My gosh, I can't wait until tomorrow night!" she said as she spun in circles. "Calm down. One: it's just a ball and two: you don't even know what your gonna be." Shrugging, Hermione said "So?" "So, what if your mom sends you some messed up costume that you don't wanna wear?" Still with a blank stare, she retorted "Well, that won't really matter, will it?"

Draco checked his watch and said, "It's late. We should get to bed. And that surprise muggle band you said you were booking better surprise me plenty." Laughing a little, she replied, "Don't worry. Any muggle in general would surprise you plenty." "True." They went their separate ways once they reached their separate staircases. "'Night." Draco said. "Goodnight Draco."

Reaching his bedroom, Draco changed into his nightwear. He thought about the ball that would take place the next night. Not only was he hoping it would turn out fine, he was also thinking about what Hermione was gonna wear. He had already gotten his costume. Needless to say he liked it and was confident he was gonna look good in it. Moving away from the subject of the ball, he thought about Hermione being able to say his first name with ease now. He had not said her first name once this year. Or...not that he remembers ever saying her first name.

'Should I start calling her Hermione?' he pondered. He was confused enough as it was, so he pushed the thought to the back of his mind and went to bed.

* * *

When Hermione got to her bedroom, she also changed into her nightwear. Starting to get comfortable in her bed, she thought about the ball that would take place the next night. When Draco pointed out that she didn't know what she was gonna be for the ball, she was a bit worried. She hadn't gone costume shopping with her mom for years! What if her mom would go overboard and get her something she doesn't like.

'I'm sure mom would do something right. She's knows me too well.' Then her thoughts led to Draco. Of course she knew he would look good in his Dracula costume. 'He looks good in anything' she thought. She then realized what she was thinking. She told herself not to think such things of Draco Malfoy. Doing so is so...un-Hermione-like.

She hoped the ball would go well. She and Draco had worked hard on it. They tried to think of decorations that would be unique yet traditional at the same time, if that was possible. She snuggled into her bed a little bit more before deciding to let the ball go the way it will and she would just enjoy the outcome. She yawned and closed her eyes to sleep.

* * *

All this sixth and seventh years in the Great Hall were buzzing with excitement. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were driving Hermione up a wall with their talk of the ball. "Oh my gosh Parvati, how am I gonna do my hair?" Lavender squealed. "Your hair? What about my make-up. I don't wanna go to the ball looking like a slob!" Parvati equally squealed.

Rolling her eyes, Hermione slid down the table. "Look Hermione, the mail's here!" Ginny pointed out. Looking up, Hermione saw owls swooping down from the high windows of the ceiling. Although, none came for Hermione. She sighed. "What's wrong Hermione?" Ginny asked. "Nothing. My mom was supposed to send me something." "Hey Hermione." She looked back and saw Colin Creevy holding a box.

"This is for you" he said, handing her the box. "Thanks Collin." She placed the box on the table and opened it. "What is it?" Ginny asked. "It's my costume for tonight." she replied happily. Ginny looked into the box and smiled, "That's so nice. You're gonna be gorgeous." Closing the box, Hermione decided to put it in the common room. As she was going to exit, she heard someone call after her.

Still with a smile on her face, she turned. But her smile faded once she realized it was Ron who was calling her. "Yes Ron?" He seemed fidgety and nervous. "Well...um...are you going to the ball tonight?" "Of course I am Ron. I helped put the whole thing together." "Oh..." Tapping her foot on the marble floor, Hermione was losing her patience. "Is there something...I don't know...important you wanna ask me?"

Ron's eyes were on the ground. He stared at his feet and mumbled his words. "Do you wanna go with me?" he mumbled. Hearing what he had said, Hermione simply replied, "Sorry Ron, but no." She turned on her heel and left the scene.

Disappointed, Ron went back to his seat at the table. "She said no, didn't she" Harry asked. Ron nodded and started to hit his forehead on the table.

* * *

That afternoon, while the students were in their classes, the prefects, Hermione and Draco was in the Great Hall, finishing up the miner details for the ball. "Hermione, I made the order of refreshments to The Three Broomsticks and Madame Rosimarta said it should reach the school by the ball." said one of the Ravenclaw prefects. Nodding, Hermione turned her attention to the walls.

"Ohh, that should go right...there" she directed a prefect. "Perfect." She looked around the room for Draco. She saw him on the platform where the band would play in the front of the room. "Draco, I need you to take over to a few minutes" she said as she walked over to him. "Why?" he asked. "I have to do something." Before he could ask why, Hermione was already on her way out the doors.

She headed toward Professor Dumbedore's office. She said the password to get in and she knocked on his door. "Enter" she heard him say. She opened the door and saw the headmaster sitting at his desk. He looked up at Hermione and asked, "You are here for the Halloween Ball check-ups?" She nodded. "So when the band is to arrive, he repelling spells are to discharge and when it is time for them to leave, their memory will be automatically modified?"

Slightly chuckling, the old wizard nodded. "Yes Ms. Granger. Everything will be accounted for. Oh, and may I ask, how are the decorations coming?" Hermione smiled and took a deep breath. "It's coming along fine, Professor." With a nod of his head, Hermione thanked him for his time and retreated back to the Great Hall.

When she got back to the Hall, Draco was talking to the Slytherin prefects. Hermione was expecting this. "Draco! Haven't you worked on anything?" The prefects turned and scowled at Hermione. Draco actually smirked. "I was. Then the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs said that they had it handled. So I left them alone." Half laughing, Hermione said "My goodness, Draco. The ball is tonight!" "Don't you think I know that?" Rolling her eyes, she left to a prefect and started discussing matters with the ball.

"How can you stand living with her?" one Slytherin prefect asked. "Once you do, you grow to ignore her" Draco lied. He seemed to love living with Hermione. Since very recently, he's been wanting to see more of her. He looked over at her talking to the Hufflepuff. She looked so serious and seemed like she was concentrating on every word the prefect was saying.

"She's just so damn bossy" the other prefect said. "I don't and won't take orders from a mudblood." The two prefects laughed. "Shut up" Draco said before he realized what had just came out of his mouth. The laughing stopped. Pushing passed them, Draco walked over to Hermione. "Is everything done" he asked in a hushed voice. "Almost" she replied. Draco sighed.

"We've been working all afternoon." he whined. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean we? You and your friends over there haven't done shit." "Haha, very funny" he said sarcastically. She took a piece of parchment and walked around the Great Hall, scribbling things on the parchment. After a few minutes going around and checking things off, Hermione placed the parchment down.

That's when she gathered all the prefects. "Okay guys, it looked like we're done. I'm confident that the ball will be great! Now, we can go back to our classes before the ball." "Why? We're only gonna end up going for one class before the classes end" the second Slytherin prefect said. "That doesn't matter. We should try and get as much learning in today as we can."

"Oh come on. One class won't hurt. Plus, it takes some of us a long time to get ready for a ball." Draco interfered. Glaring at him, Hermione gave in. "Fine. Go, do what you want!" The prefects smiled and let out sighs of relief. They left the Hall, chattering. Hermione found Draco near a corner of the Hall with the Slytherins. She went over to him and punched his arm. "Who do you think you are? Interfering like that." Laughing, Draco responded, "Thinking out loud was all I was doing."

"You're so immature, you know that?" "It's not being immature. It's being thoughtful toward my fellow prefects and such" he shot back. Rolling her eyes, Hermione turned her back and left to the common room. "I find it amazing how you know how to shut her up like that." the first prefect said. "You just have to know what makes her tick." Draco replied, smugly.

"Well, whatever it is, you do a fine job." By this time, the Slytherins bade Draco goodbye and fled to their common room. _"You're so immature, you know that?"_ That sentence ran through his head for a few minutes. Somehow, being called immature stung Draco greatly. But the running sentenced ceased when he realized...he was going crazy.

* * *

Later, Hermione entered her bedroom, with a robe on and hair wet. She bewitched her hair dryer and hairbrush to comb and blow dry her hair for her whilst she searched for the costume. She found her costume under her bed, in the box it had came in. She opened the box and took out the neatly folded Halloween costume. She had never seen it before so it must've been new.

She put on the costume with some difficulty with the bewitched brush combing her hair. Once her hair was dry, she undid the spell she had cast on her brush and dryer. She continued with the rest of the costume and waked around her room, barefoot. She went to her vanity table and applied the make-up she thought was suitable for the costume.

Some lip gloss, a little blush, a light shade of eyeshadow and a little mascara did the trick. Hoping it wasn't too much, she looked in the box for the shoes that came with the costume. She put them on and looked at herself in the mirror. She had dressed as Juliet. (a/n: I bet u were expecting that weren't u! evil laugh) She was wearing a red, velvet dress with a light pink satin inset. The dress had gold accents and had a matching headpiece and veil. (i got the description from google, just so ya know...)

The shoes were black, open toe platforms, the sleeves at the shoulder were puffed and draped down her arm with a slit up to her elbow. "I guess this would work." she mumbled to herself.

* * *

In the other room, Draco was also preparing for the ball. He made sure his costume was tailor made to the highest superior deluxe costume. It was a green velvet tunic with puff sleeves and pleated skirt trimmed with metallic braid. It had a ruffled collar and cuffs. He was dressed as Romeo. He would wear the hat that came with it but he did not bother with it. He didn't want to mess up his hair.  
He combed his hair straight and let strands of hair dangle over his eyes neatly. He thought he could've looked better but, "I guess this could work" he mumbled.

Hermione had left before Draco even had time to put on his shoes. The marble stairs let off loud clicking noises from her heels. Her hair flew behind her and the dress did so too. When she reached the common room, she stopped. She straightened her headpiece on her head. She stepped out of the portrait hole and walked through the halls, to Professor Dumbledore's office.

Knocking at his door, she entered when she had his permission. "Good evening Ms. Granger. Pleasure to see you...again. You look lovely." "Thank you professor. I just want to double-check the settings for tonight." Professor Dumbledore raised a hand to silence her. "No worries Ms. Granger. All is accounted for and all will be well. Tonight is a night that is to be of fun. Not stress. Now, do not worry and go find your friends." Smiling, Hermione nodded. "Yes sir" she said before departing.

She went back up to the Gryffindor common room and entered. "Ginny! You ready?" she called as she went up the stairs to the girls' dormitory. She went in and the whole room was chaos. Girls were screaming and arguing over brushes, some couldn't find their shoes, others were fighting over mirrors and a couple didn't even have their costumes on.

"Ginny?" Hermione looked around and found Ginny sitting on her bed with Lavender behind her. Lavender had a chunk of Ginny's hair in one hand, a rubber band in the other and a hair pin in her mouth. "Hermione, you look beautiful" Ginny exclaimed. Lavender glanced over at her and nodded, saying something that was muffled by the hair pin.

"You ready?" she asked. "Almost" Ginny replied. When Lavender was done with Ginny's hair, she immediately raced through the room. Ginny stood and relieved to Hermione that she was dressed as a gypsy and linked arms with her and they both entered into the sane common room. "Wow Hermione. I haven't seen you look so good since the Yule Ball." They then heard someone coming down from the boys' dormitory.

"I look ridiculous." they heard Ron say. "Ron, you're not dressed as great-aunt Tessy again, are you?" Ginny yelled, laughing. "Shut up Ginny." When Hermione and Ginny saw Ron and Harry fully, she and Hermione laughed. Ron was dressed as a court jester. With a hat with bells and everything. Harry at least looked decent. He was a knight. "What's with the jester Ron?" Ginny laughed. "Fred and George sent it. They thought it would be a 'good laugh'."

Laughing, Hermione turned to Harry. "We should get going. The prefects and I worked really hard on everything." "What about Malfoy?" Ginny asked, ignoring Ron's red face. "Oh, Malfoy is being Malfoy. He's feeling better by the way. His arm is finally out of that cast Ron got him in." "How many times must I say I'm sorry!" Ron yelled. "You know you're not to say sorry to me Ron. Stop being so stubborn and apologize to him!" she retorted.

Now heated, Hermione left the Gryffindor common room with Ginny racing to keep up behind her. Soon, it was Hermione and Ginny walking toward the Great Hall and Harry and Ron were in the back. Stepping into the Great Hall, Ginny grinned wide. The Hall had some of the regular floating pumpkins. The floor was foggy and up above at the ceiling, a once clear sky had changed to clouds and the words continuously read Happy Halloween! The walls were covered in cob webs and skeletons that were bewitched to skriech when someone came near.

The beverage table was covered with a moth eaten and dirty table cloth. She allowed the house ghosts to wander freely through the Great Hall as well. "Wow Hermione." breathed Ginny. "This is...different" Harry commented. "That's what I was aiming for." They entered the Hall further and greeted the Gryffindor House ghost, Nearly-Headless Nick. As Hermione and Ginny strolled through the Hall that wasn't full yet, they came across Parvati Patil with her sister Padama."Oh my gosh, Hermione, I'm just totally in love with your dress. I think I know what would make it even better." Parvati said.

She went back to the small table she was sitting at and came back with a red mask that only covered the eyes. "Parvati, this isn't a masquerade, you don't need a mask." Shrugging, she handed the mask to Hermione. "Put it on. You'll look better." Deciding to play along, Hermione put on the mask. "I don't get why but okay." She walked around the decorated Hall with Ginny. "This is so cool. So when is the band coming?" she asked. "When everyone gets here" Hermione replied, scratching near the mask.

* * *

"I still can't believe you can pull off a Romeo costume without majorly tight tights" Blaise said as he and Draco walked toward the Great Hall. Blaise was dressed as some random Prince. When they spotted Pansy Parkinson near the entrance of the Great Hall, she looked as if she wasn't wearing a costume at all. She wore a demin mini-skirt and a white tank top under a short pink sweater.

"What are you supposed to be?" Blaise asked, laughing. "Umm...A muggle" she answered quickly. Draco rolled his eyes and actually entered the Hall. He smiled at the successful decorations of the room. He stood in place and was nearly knocked over when he was used to stop Blaise from running.

"What the hell is your problem!" Draco yelled. Blaise was laughing so hard, he was rolling on the foggy floor. Draco caught his balance and checked if he had dropped something. He looked down at Blaise and kicked his leg. "Ow. What did I do?" Blaise laughed, standing up slowly. "What is that?" Draco asked, pointing to something in Blaise's hand.

Blaise smiled and said, "I swiped it from a third year running around. It's a mask I guess." Draco snatched the mask from Blaise and looked at it. It was a simple, green mask. No theme to it at all. He chuckled. "A third year had this?" he asked. Blaise nodded, "I don't know why. Maybe to be some mismatched Zorro." Smiling and laughing, Draco put on the mask. "You don't look half bad Dray. Keep it on" Blaise said once he stood up straight.

Not really caring, Draco kept the mask on. With Blaise, they walked around the nearly full Great Hall. Draco's eyes caught sight of a gypsy with red hair. She saw him and she nudged the girl she was with. The girl she was with turned and saw Draco. He had seen that costume before. She was dressed at Juliet. She, too was also wearing a mask so he couldn't really identify who she was.

"Hey Romeo, you wanna make your moves on the Juliet over there" Blaise said smoothly. Looking at him and back at Hermione, he smirked. "Piece of cake" he said. He strutted toward Hermione and took her hand. "What is the name of this fair maiden?" Draco asked as he kissed her hand. She blushed and smiled. Before she could answer, Ginny tugged on her draping sleeve. "I think everyone is here" she said.

Hermione nodded and looked apologetic to Draco. She slipped her hand away from him and went toward the great oak doors.

* * *

"Oh my gosh, that guy was so cute" Ginny commented as she followed Hermione to the doors. "He was such a gentleman too. I wonder who he is." The two entered the Entrance Hall and saw a group at the entrance door. "Who are they?" Ginny asked. Smiling, Hermione replied, "They, my friend, are the band. The muggle band I scheduled." "And their name might be...what?" "Linkin Park. I absolutely love their music" she sighed. 

She went over to the band and greeted them with a warm smile. She explained to them that their audience would be new to their music. They had mentioned to Hermione that they had liked the idea of sending them for a Halloween Ball. Saying Halloween seemed to be their specialty to their fans. They laughed and she showed them to the Great Hall.

She and Ginny re-entered the Great Hall. Everyone was there and dressed up. Most were at the beverage tables that were set up at the east and west side of the room. Hermione went up on the extra foggy stage and spoke. "Happy Halloween everyone. I hope you all have a great time! Now for our musical entertainment tonight is totally different than our other Balls. I would like you all to give a great Hogwarts welcome to Linkin Park." Everyone cheered and clapped as she got off the stage.

* * *

As Hermione was talking, Draco was with his gang of friends discussing their costumes. "Pansy, you don't even look like you tried" Blaise said, pointing out Pansy's lame excuse for a Halloween costume. She put her hands on her hips and stuck her tongue out. "At least I'm not wearing was Weasley's wearing" she cackled. They all brought their attention to Ron, who was talking to Harry at one of the near by tables. 

They all laughed at his costume. "Hey, where's Granger? I wanna see what she's wearing" Pansy mentioned. They all looked around the Hall and shook their heads. "I bet she couldn't find a date. I wouldn't blame her. It's mortifying to come to a Ball unescorted." Pansy said. Then suddenly, they heard loud music coming from the stage. "Wow. Who are they?" Blaise asked, obviously liking the music.

"I guess that's the band she booked" Draco said, not wanting to say Hermione's first name or surname. Around his friends she was known as 'her' or 'she'. He paid his attention back to the music.

_I don't know what's worth fighting for  
Or why I have to scream  
I don't know why I instigate  
To say what I don't mean  
I don't know how I got this way  
I know it's not alright  
So I'm breaking the habit tonight_

Looking out to the dance floor, many people were dancing and having a good time. Feeling disappointed for some reason, Draco grudgingly decided to detach his back from the wall and actually do some walking around. "I'm getting a drink" he mumbled and walked over to the nearest beverage table. He grabbed a cup and filled it with butterbeer.

He gulped it down and looked out at the dance floor again. Ginny once again caught his eye. Only to see her dancing with the girl dressed as Juliet, oblivious it was Hermione behind the mask. He fidgeted with the ruffled cuff and stared at Hermione. Her hair in perfect curls and looking perfect in the dress. At some point, his mind reminded him: HELLO! Remember, you're a Malfoy. If she turns you down, it won't matter.

He took a deep breath and walked through the dance floor, having to squeeze through groups of people occasionally. He reached Ginny and Hermione. Hermione's back was facing him. Ginny saw him and stopped moving briefly. She slightly pointed to Draco and Hermione turned. Hermione's masked face saw Draco's equally masked face. "Er...Hi" she said politely. He smiled a little and took her hand. He bowed and kissed her hand.

"A pleasure dear Juliet." Hermione blushed and curtsied a little. "As to you Romeo" she smiled. By looking into his eyes, she sensed she knew him from somewhere. "Would you like a drink? You look parched" Draco offered. With a small smile, Hermione looked back at Ginny, let out a small squeal and looked back at Draco, looking sophisticated. "Of course. Thank you." Still with her hand in his, he lead her away from the crowd, out to the beverage table.

Draco poured a drink for Hermione and handed it to her. "Thanks" she said, taking the drink. She took a sip and looked at him. "Do I know you?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Shrugging, Draco replied "Maybe. I don't know." She giggled.

On the other side of the room, Ron and Harry were still at their seats. Ron noticed Hermione. "Hey, who's that guy Hermione's with?" he asked. Harry shrugged. He noticed that the longer he stared at the blond boy with Hermione, he higher his temper had risen.

"So, what had given you the inspiration of dressing as Romeo?" Hermione asked with the cup still in her hand. "Well, I had read Romeo and Juliet when I was smaller and I just liked the characters so everything went on from there." Nodding in interest, she saw that he was going to ask the same question back at her. "My mom surprised me" she simply answered without having to be asked.

He laughed. "Don't you just hate it when they do that?" he asked in a friendly tone. She smiled and said "Oh my gosh, yes! I usually love surprises but when my mom surprises me, I feel nervous." Draco looked at her as if he understood. "Yeah. That's why I highly avoid having my mother surprise me."

Back at Ron and Harry's table, Ron was eyeing Draco suspiciously. "Do you think he would try and pull something on Hermione?" he asked with narrowed eyes. "Ron" Harry said. "Yeah?" "Shut up." Ron pouted and crossed his arms looking childish...again.

"Isn't this band great?" Hermione asked, looking up at the stage. The band had stopped playing for a second and the classical music started. Looking out at the clearing dance floor, Draco smirked at Hermione. He took her hand once more and said "Do you wanna dance?" Only making her smile even wider, she accepted. She followed Draco out to the middle of the room and danced slowly in each other's arms.

Ron, obviously did not like what he was seeing. More than once he attempted to stand and do something but Harry had held him back every time.

Pansy went out to the dance floor with Blaise and they danced closely to Hermione and Draco. "I swear, I think I know you from somewhere" Hermione said lightly. Draco looked down at her brown eyes and thought that he had seen her before as well. He just couldn't put his finger on it. But he pushed that to the back of his mind. He was dancing with a beautiful girl and they seemed to get along famously.

The two were so engrossed with gazing into each other's eyes, neither of them notice the song finish. When someone got their attention, the two left the Great Hall and exited toward the courtyard. It was a still night with a full moon out. Stars were lit brightly and lanterns were on here and there. "It's so beautiful out" Hermione commented, looking at the countless stars. As she looked at the stars, Draco looked at her.

He felt that he knows her but he just wasn't sure. The mask was slimming down his choices of who she could be. Although, Hermione was not really one of the top people. Draco cleared his throat nervously and it seemed to catch her attention. "You okay?" she asked, sounding concerned. All of a sudden, Draco found himself bring his lips to hers.

A sudden feeling of electricity went through them. Hermione gladly kissed him back. The feeling the both of them felt was indescribable. Hermione had never felt this way before. She didn't want to move from her very position. She brought her hands up to his neck and she found herself take off Draco's mask. As did Draco. They parted when they heard loud gasps and talking. They looked over at the group of students staring at them. "Wow" Blaise, whom was in the front of the group, said. Draco looked at Hermione and his eyes widened when he saw her face. Hermione looked as pale as a ghost.

She shook her head. "No, no, no." she said to herself. She started smacking her cheeks lightly. "Wake up, wake up" she murmured. Ginny pushed passed everyone and ran to Hermione. She took her ice cold arm and tugged her back to the school. Draco watched her leave. 'What the hell just happened' he thought. Now being the only one to look at, everyone whispered amongst each other and stared at the direction Hermione had left in and back at Draco.

Blaise looked over his shoulders, went to Draco and gripped his sleeve. He dragged him back into the castle as well. Ginny brought Hermione to the Gryffindor common room as Blaise did with Draco to the Slytherin common room.

"It was her. I can't believe it" Draco mumbled to himself as Blaise pushed him onto one of the Slytherin common room couches. "Forget about it man. Who needs her. Forget it ever happened." Draco's head whipped to face Blaise. "Are you mental! I can't just forget about it. You don't understand what kind of moment we shared back there. Even though we didn't know who the other was...it was magical. It made me to never leave her side. To never leave her lips for that matter."

Blaise rested his elbows on his knees. "Dray, I have to say that what just happened...should never happen again." Draco furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

* * *

In the Gryffindor common room, Ginny sat with Hermione on the couch. "Hermione. Are you okay?" Ginny asked lightly. Hermione's bottom lip trembled as if she was about to cry. "He...kissed me. And...I kissed him back." She looked at Ginny. "What have I done?" Ginny touched her shoulder. "You didn't do anything." "Okay. But the worst of even kissing Draco Malfoy is that..I liked it. There was a moment where I thought I could be there forever. I felt my lips tingle as soon as our lips connected. Isn't that sick?" 

Ginny shook her head. "No. It's not. It's a normal feeling." Hermione was fidgety in her seat and constantly looked over at the portrait hole as if expecting someone to come in. Ginny noticed this. "'Mione, if you knew that was Malfoy under that mask, would anything have changed tonight? As in: If you knew Malfoy was under that mask...would you have still danced with him, flirt with him, kiss him?"

Hermione's insides was telling her that Ginny was right. Nothing would be different if she had known Draco was under that mask. She decided to take deep, cleansing breaths. Just then, the portrait hole swung up. Hermione looked over quickly. Harry and Ron stepped in. Ron looking outraged and Harry looking confused and upset at the same time. "HERMIONE! HOW CAN YOU DO SUCH A THING!" Ron exclaimed. "You...and Malfoy? It's disgusting. You can't. You can't be with Malfoy. There's no way I'm letting you."

Hermione's jaw dropped. She stood up hastily and stepped forward. She pointed her finger in Ron's face and said, "Excuse me? Who are you to tell me who I can and can not see? You are not my father or my master. I do not follow by your ridiculous rule type statements. I do not like you Ron. You're like a brother to me. But right now you're giving yourself a first class ticket to being a git. Worse than Percy may I add! As a matter of fact, I would've liked Percy be my best friend right now instead of you. I kiss whomever I like. You do not make that decision. I'm a grown ass woman dammit!"

With that, she stormed out of the common room, running to her own. Running down the stairs, she used one hand to hold up her trailing dress and the other to hold onto the railing. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. Passerby students stared at her as she ran down the hallways. She quickly said the password and collapsed on the couch as soon as she came in. She gripped onto the pillow and sobbed and screamed into it.

* * *

In the Slytherin common room, there was a silence that could totally destroy someone's eardrums. "Blaise." Draco said, breaking the horrid silence. His friend looked at him. "I liked what happened tonight. Even if it was with her. I-I don't think I'll forget about it ever." "Draco, you're acting so out of character right now. The Draco Malfoy I knew would be disgusted with himself. He would be brushing his teeth and using mouthwash for hours. What happened to him?"

Draco stared at Blaise long and hard. "I'm not sure where he is, but he surely isn't here and won't be back for some time." Saying that, he departed the Slytherin common room and headed for his own. Since he had a longer walk to the portrait hole, he was seen by more students. Whispers and stares seemed to pain Draco even more on each floor. He said the password and entered the common room. Slowly, he came into the room and saw silver, high heeled shoes by the couch.

He came closer and saw Hermione sleeping on a moist pillow and still in her costume. Seeing Hermione at the moment made Draco's heart to somersaults. He didn't want to just leave her on the couch for he was sure that she would have a sore neck in the morning. He brought Hermione into his arms and carried her into her room. He placed her into her bed and covered her with her quilt. He had an urge to kiss her again but he stopped himself. He sighed lightly and left the bedroom.

Entering his own room, he changed into his pajamas and falling asleep was far most the most difficult challenge he had to face through the entire night. Although he succeeded at falling asleep at one point. 4 o'clock in the morning, being the latest.

A/n: so sorry about the wait. A lot of writers block. But its nice and long. Review please.


	6. V N M

A/n: now, i might be taking longer to update because I'm gonna start making like three chapters at a time before updating one. So i apologize in advance for the long wait.

After the ball, Draco and Hermione have been having awkward moments. Whenever they're close together, they look lost, like they don't know what to do. Now in the beginning of November, winds picked up and it got chillier. In Potions class, everyone was sitting in there seats in silence. "Using the ingredients on the board and the directions in your text books, you all will pair up and make this potion correctly."

From the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Neville look her way. She really did not want to pair with Neville. "Although" Professor Snape continued. "I have chosen your pairs for you." (You know what comes next!) He picked up a parchment and read aloud. "Potter-Parkinson, Weasley-Longbottom, Patil-Crabbe, Finnigan-Goyle, Granger-Malfoy..." At the start of the list, everyone yelled in protest and groaned in disappointment. But when they heard that Hermione and Draco were paired together, they fell silent.

After the ball, no one thought that Hermione and Draco could be trusted alone together anymore. Everyone started to walk to their partners but they all kept their eyes on Hermione and Draco. Sitting next to him, Hermione took out her textbook and went to the page that was written on the board. "I'll go get the stuff" Draco mumbled. Hermione readied the cauldron and studied the directions.

When Draco came back with the ingredients, the two started the potion in silence. "Damn" Hermione whispered. "Hey, can I borrow a quill?" she asked. Hearing her voice, everyone looked over at them. Ignoring them, Draco dug into his bag and took out an extra quill. He passed it to her and she let out a light "Thanks." She began to write and pretended that no one was looking at her.

Draco was placing the ingredients in the cauldron and Hermione took notes. When Draco was about to put in an ingredient at the wrong time, Hermione grabbed his wrist to stop him. At this, everyone whispered. "You have to add the wolf's tooth before the elf's bone." she whispered. He nodded and put the small bone down. He applied the ingredients in the correct order again.

A few minutes later, Professor Snape spoke again. "If you're group is done, you will have to test it on one another and take notes on the outcome." Looking at their silvery potion, Draco and Hermione looked at it and back at each other. "You're going first" Hermione stated. Shaking his head, Draco retaliated, "No way, you're first." "Rock, paper, scissors?" Draco had a blank stare on his face. "What?"

It took a few seconds to teach Draco how to learn the game. Then they started. "1..2..3..shoot." they said. Draco had rock, Hermione had paper. She covered his hand with hers. "2 out of 3 ok?" He nodded. "1..2..3..shoot." Hermione had rock and Draco had scissors. She lightly hit his hand with hers. "One more." she stated. "1..2..3..shoot." Draco had scissors and Hermione had paper. "I still win" Hermione said smugly.

Shrugging, Draco kept his eyes at the potion. Hermione carefully poured some of it in a test tube and passed it to Draco. "Cheers" he said sarcastically. He gulped it down and put the tube down. "How do you feel?" Hermione asked, notebook and quill at the ready. "I don't really feel any different." he said. Frowning, Hermione looked into the cauldron. "I don't see what could've went wrong."

"Did you miss something?" Draco shook his head. "Maybe this is supposed to happen. Because we don't even know what this is supposed to do" he reasoned. Taking this to thought, she agreed. "Maybe it's a truth potion. Ask me a question." Thinking, she decided to think of a question that would make him want to lie. She came close to him, ignoring the watchers, and asked, "Did you like what happened at the ball?"

With that question asked, he wanted to lie. But he was not sure if this was a truth potion. But he took his chances. "N-n-yeah." That was it. He wanted and was going to say no. Although when he was about to say it, he felt as if he was being forced to answer correctly. He was so thankful that his answer came out as a whisper.

Hermione's eyes widened. She started to scribble something in her notebook. She didn't want to take the potion now. She stood, went to a nearby sink and poured a cup of water. She went back to the table and gave it to Draco. "It helps it wear off faster" she simply said. He drank the water and she pretended to be writing something in her notebook. "Your turn" he said once he realized what Hermione was doing.

She groaned, but made little resistance. She took a fresh test tube of the potion and gulped it down. From the look on Draco's face, he wanted revenge on the question she asked. "How do you feel?" he asked. "Well, I sorta feel kinda bubbly" she giggled. He took his own notebook and wrote this down. "Bubbly? Why would you feel bubbly?" "I don't know. I just do" she continued to giggle.

"Ok? Umm...well then, do you feel any different toward Weasley now?" he asked. Hermione's giggling stopped. "Yes. Now I think he's even more of a git then I thought before. But I guess I have to remember that he's still my best friend, no matter what he does." Draco wrote something down. "Er...What about Potter?" "Hey, I only asked you one question" she said, angrily. "Just answer the damn question." Sighing, she answered. "I have no problem with Harry. I just wish he was on my side more." He wrote something else down in his notebook.

Then Hermione stood up. "Where are you going?" Draco asked. "To get some water." Draco took hold of her arm. "No you're not. I still have some questions for you." She snatched her arm away. "Okay. Ask me later." Draco crossed his arms and pouted. She came back a minute later with a cup of water in her hands. "Stop being such a baby" she said once she saw Draco's facial expression. "I'm not being a baby" he said. The period bell suddenly rang.

Hermione gathered her things and left the classroom amongst the whisperers. Blaise came up to Draco while he packed up. "Hey" he said. Draco looked up at him. "Hey." Draco put his bag over his shoulder and walked with Blaise out of the classroom. They headed to Transfiguration class and sat in their seats. Blaise glanced over at Draco for a second before searching for his notebook.

Thinking she was totally oblivious, Draco stared at Hermione for the longest time. She knew he was watching her, she just didn't say anything. It made her uneasy at first but she got used to his eyes on her. She pretended she didn't know that he was watching her just so he can look at her even more. Susan saw Draco staring and nudged Hermione. "Er...Malfoy is looking at you" she whispered. Hermione turned her head but looked in Blaise's direction instead of Draco's.

She turned back to her notebook and giggled softly to herself. She continued with her notes until Professor McGonagall stopped them and assigned them their homework. "Now class, this assignment is due one week from today. Late assignments will not be accepted." Professor McGonagall assigned a foot and a half long essay on the difference between object, animal and human transfigurations. Harry and Ron were highly disappointed at this. They mumbled to each other and Harry laughed a little.

Charms wasn't much different. It wasn't that interesting. Professor Flitwick wanted to review as many charms he had given throughout all seven years as he could. He announced he would be doing that for a while. "Which year should we review today?" he asked the class in his squeaky voice. Since no one replied, he chose. "How about year one?" The class groaned and sucked their teeth.

He had given out feathers to every student and smiled. "Brings back memories doesn't it?" "Let's try not to blow our feather up this time Finnigan" Dean Thomas laughed. Seamus gave his friend a dirty look. "If you all remember so clearly, let's levitate our feathers so we can advance to later years then." As if on cue, the entire class spoke as one in saying "Wingardium Leviosa" and levitating their feathers.

Professor Flitwick sighed and looked through his book for another charm. Through the whole day, the class had only reviewed two first year charms and one second year charm. The class was quite chatty, considering no one was interested in the lesson. Hermione walked side by side with Harry and Ron in the hallway. "Well, that was purely boring." Ron commented. "I never expected a review on the charms we had done in all _seven_ years." Harry said, agreeing with Ron.

"I was sort of expecting it but I personally think that it's a waste and helpful at the same time. But that's just me" Hermione mentioned, joining the conversation. "But McGonagall was..." Ron groaned, "A foot and a half?" "She's giving us a week. You can get it done by then" she said. "Maybe you can but I doubt I can." he said dully, "I just wanna go eat. C'mon, before the good stuff is taken."

Harry followed quickly behind as Hermione continued to go at a walking pace. She can see the great oak doors leading to the Great Hall up ahead. When she was passing a broom closet, she felt something tug her into it. The closet door closed and she couldn't see a thing. "Hello?" she half whispered. She felt along the narrow walls of the closet and found a light switch. A dim light turned on and she suddenly saw Draco's face.

She jumped and touched her heart. "What the hell? Are you trying to give me a fucking heart attack?" she asked, breathing deeply. Draco put his index finger over his lips. Hermione's eyebrows furrowed. "What am I doing here Draco?" she asked, looking around the dusty, wood closet in disgust. "I have questions for you" he simply said. Hermione realized what he was saying and rolled her eyes.

"Not now!" she said. "Yes now" he argued. "I have questions and I would like answers." Seeing that he wouldn't give up anytime soon, Hermione gave in. "Fine. And question one is...?" Smirking triumphantly, Draco started. "What did you think of that night at the ball?"

Hermione was now silent. She was debating whether to tell the truth. He had told her the truth on the subject, even if he was forced to. She doesn't have to tell him the truth right now. It would be unfair though.

After a silence, she spoke. "I-I guess I liked it a little." she mumbled. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay. I liked it a lot. Next question please." "If you could, would you do it again? With me?" Hermione was speechless. She looked up at him as he slowly stepped closer to her. Her mouth open a little, she gaped at him. "Well?" he whispered. "I...I. " She was unable to finish. Draco touched her cheek and softly placed his lips on hers.

The kiss was long, slow and gentle. It felt like an eternity that they had been standing there. When the finally parted to breathe, Hermione still couldn't say anything. She gazed into his eyes and asked softly, "What are we doing?" Looking down at her, Draco replied, "Something we both have been wanting to do all year." Looking to the ceiling for a second, she smiled and said, "Right."

The two didn't know how long they had been standing there. But by the time they had left the broom closet, students were departing from the Great Hall. "Shit" the two said in unison. They grabbed their bags and left for their next class with an empty stomach. The rest of the day went by dully. When Hermione had her free period, she went straight to the library to work on her Transfiguration essay.

Harry and Ron found her at one point and sat with her. "Hey 'Mione, where were you at lunch?" Ron asked. Hermione tried her best not to stammer or get her words or story mixed up. She did what anyone else would've done: change the subject. "Are you guys gonna work on your essays at anytime today?" Harry and Ron exchanged glances and looked back at Hermione. "It was assigned a few hours ago Hermione. And where were you at lunch?" Ron pushed.

Hermione still didn't say anything. She continued to write and when she stopped, she said, "I'm gonna take a break. Talk to you guys later." She stood, gathered her things and left very surprised, and confused Harry and Ron. She dropped off her things in her bedroom and changed out of her uniform. Into a pair of jeans, a pink t-shirt and white sneakers, she felt so much more comfortable than the school uniform.

She jogged downstairs and tripped over something. She rolled on the floor and looked up at Crabbe and Goyle's round faces. "What the hell?" Hermione stood up and dusted herself off. "Have you ever learned manners?" she said, angrily. They crossed their arms and stood straight like they were two guards ready to kick someone out. "Hey, I'm looking for my book. Have either one of you seen it?" Draco asked as he strolled down his own staircase. He looked from Crabbe, Goyle and Hermione who had had her hands on her hips.

"What's up Hermione?" he asked. He was messing with the collar of his black, cotton shirt. "Never mind. I'm going for a walk. I'm gonna be back for the rounds okay?" Draco nodded and watched her leave.

Draco straightened his shirt and picked up the book he was looking for. He headed out the common room with Crabbe and Goyle and headed toward the entrance. They passed a few second years who fled when they saw them. "You guys can go, I'm going to catch up on something" Draco dismissed. Crabbe and Goyle grunted and left by themselves as if uncomfortable to be walking the halls by themselves.

With his book, Draco left to the library to do his Transfiguration. After finishing half of it, he set it down and decided to continue to another time. He checked the library clock and noticed it was almost time for dinner. Hermione said she'd be back for rounds. Does that mean she'll be gone after dinner as well? He hoped not. The only thing that was passing his mind was the kiss he and Hermione shared earlier.

They had done it before at the ball but then they didn't know what they were doing. This time they were aware of their actions. He sighed and headed back to the common room to get ready for dinner. He walked down to the Great Hall and sat at his table. He noticed Hermione sitting with Ginny, Lavender, Parvati, and several other girls from Gryffindor.

At the Gryffindor table, the girls surrounded Hermione. "'Mione, we didn't see you at lunch. And the broom closet outside is always open. But I noticed that it was locked. What's up with that?" Parvati asked with a raised eyebrow. Hermione blushed and shook her head. "I have no idea. And I had things to do during lunch so...I couldn't make it." All the girls looked at each other and shared a "Mmm hmm."

Tucking her hair behind her ears, Hermione quickly glanced at Draco through Ginny and Lavender's slim figures. "Spill. Who were you with?" Ginny asked. Laughing, Hermione shook her head again. "I wasn't with anyone." she lied. "Hermione, you are a horrible liar. Now tell." Lavender commented. Trying her best to not look at Draco, Hermione did not tell. "Fine, then we'll ask every guy in Gryffindor." Parvati stated.

Hermione's jaw fell open. "Excuse me? You'll be doing no such thing." Lavender and Parvati did not listen. Lavender raced to the northern part of the table and Parvati headed for the southern part. Lavender reached Ron and whispered something in his ear. He nodded at what she said. Lavender smirked and strutted to Hermione. "That was easy. You could've just admitted it was Ron." Instead of her jaw falling open, she closed her mouth and her jaw clenched. "Well, then Ron is being a liar. I have never been with him. Plus, he was here at lunch." she said angrily. Lavender turned her head and glared at Ron.

"Then it was someone from a different house then?" Ginny asked. Hermione's lips moved but no words were coming out. She decided to just ignore them and eat. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten a complete meal. She had just realized how many lunches and dinners she had missed during the year. So she did something that she had thought she would never do: She ate like Ron for the first time.

By the end of dinner, Hermione left immediately. She ran through the hallways to the common room and collapsed on the couch, out of breath. A few minutes later, Draco entered the room as well and looked down at the tired Hermione. "Er...what happened to you? Ran the hundred meter dash?" She looked at Draco and rolled off the couch.

"No. I want to go the Pensive Room tonight. I feel like we're making progress." Draco didn't agree. After they go into the pensive, they never discuss it. How is that making progress? He was sure her head was still as blank as Professor Bins chalkboard. He agreed nonetheless and left into the Pensive Room with Hermione. An uncomfortable silence fell upon them as they gazed at the silvery substance.

"We've been through this before. Let's just go" Hermione said finally. She and Draco went into the pensive and landed roughly in a shady place. They stood up and realized they were standing in leaves. Hermione felt her knees get weak. They were standing in the wood Hermione had been in her dreams. Even just the crinkling of the leaves made her heart race. "Why are we here?" Draco asked. His face dropped when he saw Hermione's face pale.

In the distance, they heard laughing and cheerful screams come toward them. Draco turned and saw Young Hermione and Virginia running toward them. He backed away slowly and once they came close to him, they ran through him. He gasped. He took Hermione's arm and said, "C'mon, let's go after them." She looked at him and nodded slowly. She started to run next to him and chased her seven-year-old self.

Her heart raced and she began to get scared. This place gave her the absolute creeps. Pretty soon, she and Draco were behind Young Hermione and Virginia. "Hey Mimi, how much you wanna bet I make it to the Houston waterfall before you?" Virginia said to Young Hermione, slightly out of breath. Young Hermione shook her bushy head. "No way. I'll get to Houst-" Young Hermione tripped on something and fell to the ground.

Present Hermione suddenly stopped and watched. Young Hermione tried to get up but couldn't. "Hey, I'm stuck!" she yelled. Virginia came over to her. "How are you stuck?" she asked, looking down at her. "I don't know. But can you at least help me?" Virginia went on her knees and tried to help her friend up. No luck. It seemed like hours before Virginia had gotten Young Hermione to her feet.

By the time she had stood, it was dark, and windy. "Oh no" Virginia said. The wind grew stronger and now leaves and twigs hit their arms and faces. She took hold of Young Hermione's arm and helped her run away from the windy place. Then the scene faded away to a bright and sunny day. Preferably the day after the windy night in the woods. Young Hermione skipped to a brightly colored house with a large, well kept lawn.

She rang the doorbell and Virginia answered. "Yes" she asked. "You wanna go down to Crail street? I hear a street fair is being set up." Virginia scowled. "No. Sorry Mimi but I wanna be left alone today." Young Hermione's face fell but she kept her cheery tone up. "Oh, come on Gingy. It'll be great fun. Promise." "You can't promise that. People around here always tell promises they can't keep. Plus, I want to be left alone."

Young Hermione tugged lightly on Virginia's pajama sleeve. "Please, Gingy. I don't wanna go alone." "Then don't go at all. Now leave me alone" she snapped before closing the door. Young Hermione stood there, gaping at what had just happened. She guessed she should leave so she slowly turned around and left the lawn.

Everything so far was reminding Hermione greatly of her nightmares. She didn't like it at all. "Wait a minute" Draco said. "That can't be it." Confused, Hermione stared at him. "What do you mean?" Draco glanced at her and walked onward toward Virginia's home. He walked through the door and gestured to Hermione to follow him. She did so and looked around Virginia's living room. It seemed familiar but not so much to Hermione.

Portraits of Virginia alined the yellow walls of the livingroom. A beige, leather couch alongside the east wall of the room and a fair sized t.v. screen along the west side. On top of the t.v. were smaller pictures of Virginia and her mother, Virginia and her father, and pictures of Virginia and her friends. Draco paid no attention to this. He first went up the stairway and looked around. He went through one door and found his destination: Virginia's room.

A baby blue colored room, a high-raised bed with a white canopy hanging over it, white bar headboard with blue and pink flowers painted on it. The room seemed girly compared to the way Virginia acted. Draco spotted her in the corner, hunching over a wooden desk. He and Hermione walked over to her and looked over her shoulder. She was holding her necklace; her prized possession. She lightly touched the red, overgrown heart that hung on the chain. Up close, the red heart look extra fake.

"There's something about that necklace I find strange" Draco stated. Hermione looked at him and saw a look of concentration. She looked at the necklace as well. "Hmm...witches and wizards, spells and wands. Are those even real?" Virginia mumbled. She closed her eyes tight. Both Draco and Hermione furrowed their eyebrows, obviously lost. But they realized what it meant when the room started shaking violently.

As if during an earthquake, Hermione held onto Draco and hid her head in his chest. Pictures on the walls fell and pillows jumped. After a few seconds, the shaking stopped. Hermione released Draco a little and looked around and the minor damage Virginia had caused on her bedroom. "Oh my God" Hermione whispered. "Virginia is a witch?" Draco looked down at her and squeezed her hand lightly. "Let's go. I think I got something." Hermione rested her head on his chest and nodded.

The baby room disappeared and a dim, candle lit room replaced it. Hermione took her head off of Draco's chest and let go of him. She looked aimlessly around the room. "Hermione" Draco said. She turned and stared at him. "Do you still have that necklace?" She nodded. She left the room and jogged to her bedroom.

Securely, she took a small box from under her bed and unlocked it. She dug deep within it and took out the long, silver chain necklace with a fake looking, overgrown, red heart. Once she had reached eight years old, she had no idea why or where she had gotten the necklace from. She thought about throwing it away but something made her feel that it had sentimental value. So she kept it. For ten years she had kept the necklace in a secure box, locked under her bed.

She walked down her stairs with the necklace close to her chest. "Can I see it?" Draco asked. Opening her hands, Hermione showed the necklace. Draco took hold of it and looked at the red heart closely. "It is fake" he whispered. He touched the red heart and looked as if he was about to peel something off. "No. You'll break it." Hermione protested. "I won't" Draco assured. He peeled off the red heart and it showed a big, beautiful, silver ring.

"There's something engraved on it." he said. He read the engravings aloud. "To the witch we regretted giving up. We love you with all our hearts. V. N. M." "V. N. M." Hermione repeated. "She's a witch. Her initials are V. N. M. But what does she have to do with me?" Draco shrugged. "It can be anything. It can be nothing. It can be everything. But I have a question. When we were in those woods, why did you go all creepy ghost girl?"

Hermione bit her bottom lip. "You know those nightmares I have?" He nodded. "I was having nightmares about that same exact place. I run and someone is yelling at me. I fall and I can't get up. It's so scary. And it feels so real." A tear ran down her cheek and sat on the couch. "I don't know what I've done." Draco sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her. "Don't worry. We'll figure this out."

She wiped a tear from her cheek and looked at him. "Thanks. I really appreciate it." She kissed his cheek and rested her head on his shoulder. Draco watched the fire crackle in the fireplace. He thought about the months up ahead. He was debating whether he actually believe he and Hermione could figure out what was bothering her. He looked at Hermione and found her asleep on his shoulder.

Carefully, he maneuvered Hermione to get her into his arms. He slowly and cautiously carried her to her bedroom and rested her on her bed. Almost hesitantly, he kissed her forehead and covered her body with her quilt. He closed the door and left to his own bedroom. He thought about the whole day that linked to Hermione. It scared him a little bit. Six years of hate seemed to be dusted off in some way.

He couldn't understand it. It was like Hermione was one of those annoying pop songs that once they get stuck in your head, they never leave. He couldn't understand anything unless he talked to someone. But he had no one to talk to. His father was a TOTAL negative, he doubted Blaise would understand, Crabbe and Goyle weren't even near his thoughts. Maybe he could talk to a teacher. He groaned and covered his head with one of his many pillows.

In the other room, Hermione had awakened after a couple of hours in her bed. The last thing she remembered was sitting in silence with her head on Draco's shoulder. 'He must've brought me in here. I didn't even realize I had fallen asleep' she thought. She sighed. She stared at the ceiling and tried to think of something that would get her to sleep.

'Maybe trying to recap on the last History of Magic class would help' she thought. Although, that did not help. Everything lead to Draco's face, his smile, his laugh. At one point, she had fallen asleep with a smile on her face just by thinking about him.

A/n: omg! I really hope u liked this!


	7. V N M part II

a/n: sorry it took me so long to update. i got a new computer and had to go through a few things before being able to go on it again. i hope you like this chapter!

Now in the middle of November, weather felt like December. On a Hogsmead Saturday, Hermione had agreed to go with Ginny. Wearing a black coat, scarf and hat, Hermione still felt a chill in her. She followed Ginny toward Weasley's Wizard Weezes. Fred and George had managed to get one of their stores to Hogsmead, even though they knew their products were forbidden on Hogwarts grounds. When they entered the busy building, Hermione and Ginny lost each other almost instantly. Feeling relieved by the warmth of the room, Hermione went to the front counter and saw Fred negotiating with a customer. Hermione noticed a lot of younger students in the shop. The students were always mesmorized over the shop's products.

George appeared from behind a back door and grinned widely once he saw Hermione. "Hey there stranger" he greeted. He swung his arm around Hermione's neck. Fred looked up from the cash register and saw Hermione as well. "Well hello 'Mione. Long time no see, eh?" Fred grinned. Hermione was never able to keep a straight face when with the twins after fifth year or so. She found the twins' wit amusing. "Hey guys. Looks like you're busy today." Fred waved his hand dismissively. "Oh no. This is a normal day. Busy days are chaos! We have to kick some people out because its so damn crowded!" Hermione laughed as she escaped from George's clutches. When she did so, Fred and George shared a smirk.

Fred came up behind Hermione. "A little birdy told us a few new things about you 'Mione." George nodded in agreement. "Indeed. I heard you defended Malfoy when he and Ron had a little row." Just remebering the incident made Hermione's blood boil. "It wasn't just a 'little row' as you've put it so delicately. Ron was being so cruel! He had Draco in a cast for weeks!" The red-haired twins cocked their eyebrows. "it's Draco now is it?" Fred asked. "If I'm not mistaken, you had once called Malfoy a 'vile, lothesome, evil little cockroach'?" George added. Hermione's cheecks pinkened. "We live together now. We agreed to act decent to each other." "Oh?" the twins said in unison. "How does snogging him outside the school count as being 'decent'?" George asked. She glared at him and huffed.

"I refuse to be here and be...well...questioned by two men who haven't even seen the...well..scene." With that said, she huffed and puffed out of the store, completely forgetting about Ginny. Once she opened the door, cold air smacked her in the face almost painfully. She tightened her scarf, she pulled her hat over her ears and she brought her coat closer to her body. She walked toward The Three Broomsticks and quickly opened the door. It wasn't as crowded as she had expected.

"Damn Weasleys" she had heard Madam Rosemarta mumble under her breath as she walked passed tables. Hermione found herself a booth and sat down. she took off her hat and her brown hair had gone completely frizzy. She held her black, wool hat in her hands. She sighed and put the hat down on the table. She laced her fingers and laid them on the newly washed table. She let out a yawn. She assumed no one was in the booth behind her since it was so quiet. She stretched out her arms and had her hands move over to the other booth. She had hit someone. "Ouch" she heard a voice say.

A slight yelp came out of her mouth. She looked onto the booth behind her and saw Draco rubbing his head. "Oh my gosh. I am so sorry Draco." She apologized. "I had no idea you were behind me." He shook his head. "Nevermind about it. What are you doing here alone?" he asked, quickly changing the subject. Hermione shrugged. "It's cold out there, it's warm in here. Things connect." He laughed. "You wanna sit here? I'm alone as well." Smiling, Hermione grabbed her hat and sat in the seat across from Draco. He had on his black turtleneck and black slacks. His black blazer fit him so perfectly.

"You're not cold?" Hermione asked him, quizzingly. Without saying anything, Draco lifted his coat that was next to him and gave her a face that said See?. "Oh" she replied to his facial expression. She put her hands on the table and looked at them. They sat in silence and it was only broken when Draco had ordered the two of them a butterbeer. Minutes passed and Madame Rosemarta had passed by their table and dropped off their drinks. She eyeed the two students suspiciously before she walked away. Hermione took a sip of her butterbeer and looked out the window. Draco noticed that Hermione looked at everything except him.

"Err...Hermione?" She quickly looked at him. "Yes Draco?" "I want to discuss last night with you. About...V.N.M." he said hesitantly. Hermione listened. "I think we should start working on it. You know. So we can hopefully figure this out by the end of the year." A small smile crept onto her face. "That would be fabulous. It shouldn't take _that _long since its only a few initials." _Initials that could be anything. _she thought. Another silence. "Another thing" Draco said, a little more quieter than before. "I wanna talk about...yesterday in the broom closet. I have no idea what had came over me. I was curious at first and I don't know how I felt after that and-" He was cut off by Hermione placing her index finger over his lips.

"I want to talk about that too. Just not here okay?" He nodded wide eyed, almost surprised at Hermione. She continued to sip her butterbeer with a smirk on her face. To Draco, she was acting very un-Hermione-like. The rest of their time in The Three Broomsticks wasn't silent. They talking about their summers and their favorite subjects. Hermione had learned that Draco had almsot liked school as much as she did. They were so busy talking to each other, they didn't even notice Harry and Ron watching them outside.

* * *

"What's Malfoy doing with Hermione?" Ron thought out loud. He saw Hermione laugh at something Draco had said to her. Ron's ears became red. Harry wasn't sure whether it was the cold or his anger that did it. "It looks like they're just talking" Harry said. Ron shook his head, "Its never 'just talking' with them! They can sneak off somewhere and snog each others heads off!" Harry rolled his eyes and walked alongside The Three Broomsticks and entered. Ron came in after him. 

They took a table near Hermione and Draco's. Ron stayed quiet and tried to listen in on what they were talking about.

* * *

"--I mean, I enjoy watching Harry play quidditch but playing? Not my thing" Hermione had finished explaining to Draco. "Why don't you play? You afraid of getting hit or something?" Hermione shook her head. She twisted her finger around a curl in her hair. "I guess I'm a little scared of heights." she said sheepishly. "What!" Hermione and Draco turned their heads toward the person who had just spoken.They both saw Ron covering his mouth and Harry covering his face withthe hood of his robes. 

Outraged, Hermione stood up and grabbed her things. "Hermione?" Draco said, looking a little disappointed. Without a word, she took Draco's wrists and dragged him out of the pub. Harry looked at Ron and smacked him in the back of his head. "What's your problem!" Ron shook his head again and sank into his seat.

* * *

Once out of The Three Broomsticks and they went up a couple of blocks, Hermione let go of Draco. Hermione leaned against a brick building. She looked around the the block seemed deserted. In a distance, they could see the sea of students where the shops were. But where Hermione and Draco were, they were alone. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea Ron was gonna be there. He's always trying to spy on me now and its getting annoy-" She was cut off herself by Draco placing his own index finger over her lips. 

The stood there, staring into each other's eyes. "We never got to talk about V. N. M." she whispered. Draco came in closer to her. "We'll talk about it later." "Are you sure about what you're doing?" she continued to whisper. He nodded and placed his lips on her. Unlike they're other kisses, this one was more passionate, but heated at the same time. Draco placed his hands on her hips and she had her arms around his neck.

The only thing that disconnected Hermione and Draco's lips was the dier need to breathe. As their breaths were fast and they could see their own breath from the cold weather. They looked into each other's eyes and Hermione smiled. They laced their fingers together and stood there in the cold, by themselves.

* * *

Harry and Ron were wandering around Hogsmead. After they left The Three Broomsticks, Ron started to look for Hermione. "Ron, she's gonna have to go back to the castle. It's so cold out here, she can't be far" Harry tried to reason. Ron didnt want to listen. Later, Harry told him he was leaving to the castle. So when he was alone, Ron began to actually search for Hermione. He went up and down alleyways and in and out of stores. No sign of Hermione. He stopped in front of an alley leading to the deserted part of Hogsmead. But no one goes there so Hermione couldn't be in there. 'But...' Ron thought. He took his chances and walked down the alley. He turned a corner and looked around the empty area. There was no sign of anyone even living in the area. Then he heard a noise. 

Ron walked up a street and followed the noise. It was very, very faint. He could hardly hear it but he followed what he did hear. He turned a corner and saw something he really didn't want to see. 'Oh shit! Hermione...Malfoy...making out...' he thought. He stood there for a while before running back to the castle. He hurried back to Gryffindor tower and found Harry warming up in front of the fire. Ron was pale and was breathing fast. "What's wrong Ron?" Harry asked when he saw the state of his friend. "Hermione...Malfoy..." he stuttered. Harry rolled his eyes. "I told you. They looked like they were just talking." Ron shook his head violently. "They were all over each other! Making out! I wasn't surprised Malfoy wasn't choking her with his tongue down her throat!" "Ron, don't you think your exaggerating a little?" "I'M NOT!"

Harry refused to listen. Ron ran his hands through his flaming red hair and sighed. 'Hermione, think about who you're dealing with.' he thought.

* * *

Later, Draco and Hermione returned to their common room and sat on the couch together. Hermione leaned against Draco comfortably. They lied there with their fingers laced together and in silence. Unlike their other silences, this one wasn't uncomfortable, awkward or nearly painful. This was a special silence. "Hermione?" Draco whispered, breaking the silence. "Yes?" Hermione whispered back. "I love you" he said even softer than before. Hermione heard him clearly. She got off of him and looked at him with a smile on her face. "Say again?" Draco looked at his hands and back at her. "I said I love you." 

Hermione broke into happy tears and threw her arms around his neck. "Oh Draco! I love you too." She kissed himand he didn't hesitate tokiss her back. After a few minutes, they let go of each other and smiled at each other. Hermione just wanted to stare into Draco's eyes forever. She could've if she wanted to. But of course, there were interupptions. There was a tapping at the window. Looking toward it, Hermione and Draco saw an owl. Not a familiar owl they have ever seen in the Owlery. Slowly getting up from the couch, Hermione went over to the window and opened it for the owl. The owl flew in and landed on the coffee table infront of Draco.

The owl dropped a letter and flew out. Draco looked down at it. Hermione took it and opened it. Draco stood and looked over her shoulder as they read.

**_Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger-Head Boy and Girl of Hogwarts School of WItchcraft and Wizardry..._**

**_V.N.M. is a puzzle. Find your peices and put then together. Rewind, fast forward, play. Vfor the venom in her eyes. N for the natural cruelty that has been passed on to her. And M. The M..M for the "Master" family she wasn't able to grow in. THINK. Both are smart. Ponder and wonder all your thoughts and put them together. Your answer will come to you._**

**_Take this advice surely and use it well_**

The letter was finished. Both Hermione and Draco were speechless. She let the peice of parchment fall from her fingers. Draco looked at her as she looked down at her hands. He put his arms around her. "Mione?" he said softly. She blinked. She slowly looked at Draco. "Who do you think sent this?" he asked. Looking back at her hands, Hermione said, "I don't know." Taking one of her hands, Draco took Hermione back to the couch in front of the fire.

"It may be a mystery at who sent it but its still help" Draco says. Nodding, Hermione looked at the window. Rain hit against the window lightly. "I don't know. What if this letter is a trick?" Draco looked confused. "How could it be a trick? It's helping us figure out what V.N.M stands for." Hermione sighed. "I know. I'm just suspicious. There's no name, no address, I'm just worried." He took her hand into his. "Don't worry." She gave him a small smile and stood. "I'm going to bed." Draco nodded and watched her leave. He was worried for her.

* * *

Later that night whenHermione was in bed the dream came back to her... 

_Running through thosethewoods she had visited so many times in her dreams. Only something was different. She didn't hear the voice that sent shivers up her spine and she was running longer than she usually does. Seeing the spot where she usually trips, she attempted to avoid it again. Strangely enough, she did...She ran passed it and continued to run. Everything was silent. Even though she was running over Fall's leaves it was still silent._

_Then she reached somewhere she had never seen before in her dreams. A large lake with a waterfall at an end. Hermione stood near the waterfall, feeling its light mist and breathing in the fresh air. She smiled. Her smile soon faded as she felt pressure against her back. She fell into the lake. Falling deeper she didn't know which way was up. "Open your eyes you fool." the voice said. It echoed loudly in Hermione's ears. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the owner of the haunting voice._

_A teenager. Around Hermione's age. She was fine figured and had long platinum blond hair. Steely grey eyes. She looked familiar. Her clothes. Was she meant to look like a doll? She wore a unbelievably short, black and green plaid dress. Her long, silky blond hair was put in a low ponytail. Hermione couldn't put her finger on it. She had never seen this person before. Or at least she doesn't think she has. "Who are you?" Hermione asks.With a straight face, the blond girl says "So you don't know who I am?" Her voice echoing as loud as before. Flinching by the volume, Hermione shook her head. Coming closer the blond bent down and came close to Hermione's face. "I...am V. N. M. I feel offended that you don't remember me Mimi. We were after all, best mates." _

_She stood straight once again and winked. She disappeared from an explosion of bubbles. Hermione stayed in the water, eyes wide open. Just then, her eyes stung like mad. She closed them quickly. Suddenly she had the dyer need for air. She squirmed and struggled to get back to the surface. When she finally did she swam to land. She crawled on the dirt and panted quickly on her hands and knees. "Need help there Mimi?" asked a small child's voice. Looking up was Virginia. She had her hand held out to Hermione. Hesitantly, Hermione took it. Still breathing deeply, Hermione stood. She looked down at the small blond girl. _

_A smile lied on the little girls face. "You got tall Mimi" she said sweetly. Hermione did not know what to say. She has never had the nick name Mimi. The sweet smile on the little girls face faded. Then somgthing stange happened. As if made of colored dust, Virginia started blowing away. Hermione stepped back. Replacing Virginia's place was V. N. M. again. Only she wasn't dressed in doll-like clothes. She wore black and emerald velvet. A floor length gown fit snuggly on her finely figured body. On the emerald cloak she wore held a crest. Being a few feet away from her, Hermione wasn't able to see the crest completely. V. N. M. snapped her fingers in front of Herminone's face._

_Hermione regained her focus on the teenage girl. "Tell me your full name! What does V. N. M. stand for?" Hermione asked. Her voice was low and scared. V. N. M. walked close to Hermione and pushed her back. Expecting to feel water, Hermione felt nothing. She screamed. She held onto the first peice of land her hand could grab. She looked down. The water was gone. In its place was a hole. Hermione could not see it's bottom. She looked away from the darkness and to V. N. M. again. Looking down at the girl holding on for her dear life, the blond girl brought the tip of her heeled shoe to Hermione's fingers. _

_"Hope you wake up soon Mimi" snarled V. N. M. She pushed her shoe hard on Hermione's fingers, causing her to lose her grip and fall. V. N. M. watched Hermione fall into the pit of darkness. She hadn't felt a thing. After Hermione's screams faded, she walked away._

* * *

Screams filled Hermione's bedroom. Tears rolled down her cheek quickly and strickingly cold sweat caused her night shirt to cling to her body. She brought her knees to her chest and held on tightly. She cried and screamed into her knees. Draco rushed into her bedroom. He went to Hermione and held her. He lightly rubbed her back and said soothing things to her. "Calm down Hermione. Stop crying." "I-I saw her! V. N. M. I saw her!" Hermione stuttered lightly. "Ok. Let's not talk about this now. Shhh...it's ok. Ok, try to get out of bed. Come on, love." Slowly, Hermione got out of bed with Draco holding onto her. He brought her to the bathroom and told her she should take a long, relaxingbath. 

After he left, Hermione tried to gather herself together. "Come on Hermione. Get together. It was just a silly dream" she kept saying to herself. She undressed and started the water in the tub. When it was ready she soaked herself in a pool full of water and bubbles. Before she got in she eyed the water warely. Then she got her senses back and lied down. She glanced at the clock. 4:58 a.m. She sighed and continued to soak.

* * *

After Hermione's little scene in her bedroom, Draco was unable to go back to sleep. He was worried about Hermione. He couldn't imagine how scared she must be. 

To have these dreams must be horrifing. He thought about the letter they got about the memories. **_The M..M for the "Master" family she wasn't able to grow in. _**What was that suppose to mean? Draco knew the answer but it just wasn't getting to him quick enough. He fell back onto his matress. For some reason his thoughts went back to what he had told Hermione that day. He told he had loved her and she replied with the same. His feelings were taking over him. All of this was so...un-Draco like.

The sound of running water assured him that Hermione was relaxing. She deserved it. Soon enough, the sound of running water stopped. He stayed silent. His breath held. Light footsteps against the staircase, the sound of her bedroom door closing. After that, he breathed again. The many thoughts in his head whirled him into something he wanted: sleep. His thoughts exactly were: "I'll worry about this tomorrow".

OMG THAT TOOK SOOOOOO LONG. I AM SOOOO SORRY PPL! I HOPE U LIKE THIS ONE! R&R PWEEZE (kno flames u kno it)


	8. Who Is V N M?

A/n: what is this? Chapter Eight? Wow, never expected to go this far, lol.

On an early Sunday morning in late November, Hermione was searching through the cabinets of the kitchen in the room next to Draco's staircase. Draco was not awake and she guessed it was either too early before breakfast was served or she was just too lazy to go. She found a box of Coco Puffs. "Hello, dear friend. Mmm...chocolate heaven" she said to herself. She pulled out a bowl and a carton of milk from the mini refrigerator.

Taking a spoon from the counter and she simply made a bowl of cereal. She took the bowl to the common room and plopped onto the couch. She wished she had a t.v. Although morning programs are boring, she just wanted something to do while she ate. As she munched and crunched on a spoonful of Coco Puffs, she looked down at her lightly painted toenails.

She felt a drop of now chocolate milk spill from the side of her mouth. She brushed it away with her sleeve. Thinking about what she should do to kill time, the necklace crossed her mind. V. N. M. She still had no idea on what those letters could stand for.

Pretty soon, Hermione heard footsteps. She put another spoonful of Coco Puffs in her mouth and chewed. Draco entered the common room with a yawn and a scratch of his head. "Good morning" Hermione said while chewing. Draco looked at her tiredly. He opened his mouth but closed it again. Looking as if he had forgotten what he was about to say. He walked over to her and sat next to Hermione on the couch. He put his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes. "Coco Puffs?" Hermione offered him a spoonful of cereal. He opened one eye and looked at the spoon. He nuzzled his head at her shoulder more.

"Ok...that's a no. Well, more for me." Pretty soon, Hermione finished and stood. Draco finally woke up completely and stretched. "What do you want to do?" he asked. Returning from the other room, Hermione said, "I want to go to the library." Draco raised an eyebrow. "C'mon Draco. Please?" Hermione pouted. He sighed and nodded. "Ok." Hermione smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek. She went back to her bedroom. Draco watched her leave.

* * *

He suspected this love thing was worth it. To see the gleam in her eyes when she smiles just made him feel happy inside. He sat there smiling for a few minutes before he decided to get up and take a shower.

* * *

In Hermione's bedroom she went under her bed and took out the box. Opening it, she took out the long silver chain with the large silver ring. She ran her index finger over the engravings. When she thought about V. N. M. it seemed so simple. It frustrated her that she couldn't figure it out. She grunted and changed out of her pajamas. She strolled down her staircase to the common room. Inside was Blaise himself sitting on the armrest of the couch. "Well lookie, lookie. If it isn't the mudblood herself" he snarled. Hermione glared at him. She walked over to Draco's staircase and called, "Draco! I'm heading to the library now." "Fine, fine. Go, go. I'll catch up" he called back. 

She turned around and walked passed Blaise with a smirk on her face. She left the common room and headed toward the library. She passed the Gryffindor portrait hole and caught a few students coming out. These students happened to be Ron and Ginny. "Hey Hermione" Ginny smiled. Ron stared at Hermione with a glare and said nothing. "I'll be downstairs" he whispered to Ginny. She rolled her eyes and looked back at her friend. "What's up with Ron?" Hermione asked. Ginny have her a dismissive wave. "Don't mind him. He's just not comfortable about you and Malfoy's friendship." Hermione looked around. "Oh, ok. Well then...I'll speak to you later. I'm going to the library.Bye" She waved at Ginny and walked away.

"Friendship? Yea...ok.." Hermione said to herself as she entered the library. No one had noticed the necklace around Hermione's neck. She put the ring down her shirt so no one can see it. She went to the back of the room and looked at the shelves of books. "Dreams, dreams, dreams" she whispered. She came across one book with a gold and silver binding. No words were on the binding of the book. She pulled it out and looked at the cover. The cover was misty with gold and silver around the edges.

She opened the book but it closed itself. She let out a light squeak. Then, seconds later, Draco came down the aisle. "What are you doing back here?" he asks. She turned her head to look at him but the first thing she saw was Blaise standing behind him. "Err...oh. Well I'm looking for books that could help us out. To help clarify why I'm having these dreams and such." Draco nodded and sat beside her. Trying to ignore Blaise's stare, Hermione attempted to open the book again.

It opened but the pages were blank. "This is rubbish!" Hermione said angrily. **_No it isn't you meanie._** Her eyes widened. "What the hell?" Draco furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Blaise just leaned against a bookcase, not really giving a damn. "Ask it a question" Hermione said to Draco. Flashing her a glare, he looked back at the book. Hermione looked over her shoulder and noticed that Blaise's eyes were still on her. He didn't care if she had seen him because even when their eyes connected, he had not looked away.

"Hermione. Hermione!" Draco snapped his fingers in front of Hermione's face. She looked at him, "Huh?" "I asked the book if it knew why you're having these dreams" he replied to her dimwittedness. Hermione glanced at the book. Still open, yet, still blank. Then, bold black ink appeared onto the page.

**_These nightmares must be forming in Hermione's head because it has a link. Links to the completion of the puzzle she must solve. As I know, Hermione is the smartest witch of her age but these dreams are blocking her sense of judgment. So she goes one way when the answer is in the opposite direction. The longer the dream, the more clues are revealed. _**

"And the dream I had last night? When I saw V. N. M." Hermione added. She kept her eyes on the book steadily.

**_Girl, that necklace you wear around your neck of course isn't a trinket of any sort. It holds black magic. Generations ago that ring was created and old, black magic was put inside it. Now with V. N. M. I'm surprised any Malfoy wouldn't know about such a ring. Rings like the one around you're neck belong to high rated purebloods. The Malfoy family as an example. Each ring is created specifically for its owner. For V. N. M. that ring was created before she was born._**

"Ok so we know that Virginia is V. N. M. So...so far we have V. for Virginia. N?" Hermione was perplexed. Draco looked confused. He stared at Hermione and finally noticed the chain around her neck. He held is hand out to it and pulled out the ring. He carefully slid the chain off of her and stared at the ring closely. Directly at the engravings he saw a dim, green glow shine throw the letters.

"This is all a bunch of crap" Blaise said suddenly. "I can't believe you dragged me here for this Draco. I thought I knew you better than that. Befriending a mudblood. _Please!_ Obviously you have lost your dear mind." With that said, Blaise walked out of the aisle and eventually out of the library. Both Hermione and Draco took that scene as insignificant. "Of course. Father spoke of these rings before. I can't believe I didn't pay attention." Draco cursed under his breath and gave the ring back to Hermione.

He stood and ran to the end of the aisle. "Draco, where in heavens name are you going!" Hermione called after him. "Sorry, love, I have to send a letter to my father." He left the library as fast as he could and headed for the common room. Left in the library alone, Hermione investigated the ring some more. "What kind of dark magic is in this ring?" she whispered.

**_Why are we whispering?_**

"I don't know."

**_Dumb ass._**

"Rude."

_**Whatever. Inside that ring is something that has been spoken of many years ago. A long line of purebloods paid unbelievable amounts of galleons for these rings. Inside these rare rings is a unique power. For V. N. M. without this ring, she doesn't have the unique power.**_

"Then why did she give it to me 10 years ago?" questioned Hermione.

**_That I am unsure of. Fright perhaps? Or possibly because she didn't have any knowledge of this power and she had done such a foolish thing as to give it to you. She probably knows you have her ring by now. Or not. Whatever the reason may be, once she has that ring back in her possession, the power inside that ring will come back to her._**

Remembering the last time Hermione and Draco has entered the pensive, Virginia had shaken her entire room by just holding the ring. And THAT was at 7 years old. Hermione couldn't imagine what she could do now at 17. "Does the power get stronger to the owner of the ring as they age."

**_Absolutely. Although, the power does begin to fade as the owner gets closer to death. The owner can tell they are going to die soon when the rings glow grows dim or stops all together. You wouldn't know how bright the rings glow is for you are not it's owner. So it only appears as a dim light to you. To the owner, it glows as bright as a flashlight is a pitch black room. _**

"Well do you have any clue of what the other two initials might be?"

**_. . . . . . .Well I already know who she is but the answer you must figure out on your own._**

Hermione frowned and smacked the book.

**_Oww. Ok, ok. I'll give you a hint. Many pureblood families give the female child the middle name of the mother. There you go and have a nice day._**

The book closed. "Like that helps." Hermione rolled her eyes.

In his bedroom, Draco sat at his desk and wrote on a piece of parchment as a letter to his mother. He had requested for his mother to repeat all the important details she and Draco's father had spoke of the rare rings. He wasn't quite sure his mother would give in so easily but he gave it a shot. 'The answer is right there. I'm sure its right in front of me but I can't see it.' he thought. He moaned and went to bed.

* * *

Hermione remained in the library. Blank book in front of her and the ring at hand. She stared at the dim glow coming from the engravings. It was so odd. Though, something was revealed. V. N. M. was a pureblood. A rich one at that. So that narrowed down the amount of families she could possibly be in. Hermione leaned her head on her hand. "Virgina...Blank...Blank...," Hermione whispered to herself. She closed her eyes and imagined the present form of V. N. M. ****

Girl, am I still open!

Hermione suddenly looked at the book. Being frustrated with it, she harshly closed it and put it back on the shelf. She glanced at the ring again. "Hmm..." She stood up and looked up and down the aisles again. Then she came down to a book of purebloods. The long lines, the poor and the rich. It was incredibaly thick. She opened the book to the first page and looked at the table of contents and looked for the wealthy pureblood families with the last name starting with the letter M. Every family she looked up didn't fit. Each family either didn't have a daughter with the name of Virginia, or didn't have a daughter at all. Either that happened or they didn't have a mother with the name beginning with the letter N.

The only family left that Hermione did not check was the Malfoy family. She knew Draco was an only child though. She stared at the name written in fine script. _Malfoy._ She thought she shouldn't because she knew the Malfoys well but she turned the page just in case.

Hermione mumbled to herself as she skimmed the page.

****

Lucius and Narcissa did have 2 children. Draco Malfoy being the oldest. Although the second child's personal information has been kept secure away from the public. All that is known of this child is her name. Youngest by 3 minutes after Draco was born. Young Virginia Narcissa Malfoy has been kept away from the public. (a/n: Ooops i made an error. srry guys)

Hermione didn't even read the end of that sentence. She had already dropped the book and ran to the common room. Quickly saying the password.and ran into the common room. "DRACO!" she yelled. "DRACO! Draco, Draco, Draco!" She run up his stair case and burst into his bedroom. She went over to the sleeping Draco and shook him awake. "Draco, Draco, listen to me!" she yelled.

"What, what?" a sleepy Draco said. "V. N. M. is your sister" Hermione told him, out of breath. Draco shot up in his bed, his eyes wide open. "Are you serious?" he asked. Hermione nodded wildly and explained what she had read in the library. "I...I..." Draco said, obviously shocked. He went over to his desk and kicked it hard. Hermione was sitting on his bed and lied down. Draco began to rant on about how his parents had lied to him all this time. While this occurred, Hermione had fallen asleep.

A/n: SORRY FOR THE WAIT U GUYS. HOPE U LIKE THIS!


	9. Meet the Parent

A/n: OK OK! you guys r either smart, or im predictable. or both! idk...but w/e lets get on with the chapter!

By December, Hermione got more and more worried about Draco. Did V. N- I mean...Virginia know who her sibling was? Who her parents were? Draco had sent another letter to his parents saying he will be returning home for the Christmas holiday with a guest. He did not mention that Hermione would be the guest but he had a thought that they owed him. They had sent a letter back accepting the fact he was returning home with a guest, although, they did not reply to the letter regarding the ring.

Hermione sat in the common room in front of the warm burning fire. Draco came down from his room and sat next to her. He watched her. She was just staring blankly into the fire. He took her hand and laced their fingers. "Hermione, I'm going home for the holidays this month ok," he told her.

She showed no facial expression. "Ok," she replied. "I will miss you." She still stared blankly at the fire.

Putting his arm around her, Draco said, "Nonsense. You're coming with me." Yet still, she showed no facial expression. "Hermione, are you ok?" he asked. Hermione's bottom lip quivered a little. She let go to Draco's hand and stood up. She silently walked to the Pensive Room and stood in front of the pensive. She gripped the rim of it and let out a shaky sigh. Draco walked into the room and stared at Hermione. He went to her and held her arms. "Are you sure you're okay," he asked, obviously concerned. Closing her eyes, Hermione nodded. She opened them again and brought out her hand. She put it to the inside of the pensive but barely touched the silvery contents.

She sighed and looked at Draco. "We'll have no more use for this will we? The mystery is solved. V. N. M. is your sister. That's it," Hermione said. She looked somewhat disappointed. Draco thought about what to say.

"Well the year isn't over so don't think of it that way. We still have a lot ahead of us," he reasoned.

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know Draco. Maybe because we've been doing this for most of the school year that I'm used to having to come in here and find something new about my past and I guess I'm just used to the idea that I have something to do almost everyday."

Draco rubbed her arms and said softly, "Don't worry about it. Look, we're going to my place soon and you're going to be able to relax."

Hermione put an unsure look on her face, "Relax? At you're place? I'm sorry Draco but I'm a bit taken aback that you're taking me to your home. With your parents there at that!"

Draco laughed and walked Hermione out of the room. "Don't worry about that," he said, "I'll make sure you'll have a relaxing and enjoyable time." Hermione sighed and didn't look quite convinced. Although, if Draco was going to put effort in making sure Hermione enjoyed herself, then maybe she'll actually have some kind of fun. "Trust me, this holiday you are going to be treated like the princess you are." He smiled at her and she smiled back.

Was Hermione positive she'll have fun? Hell no, but she thought she could give it a try. Draco kissed her cheek and left to his room. In the common room again, Hermione scratched the back of her head. She sighed and left to her own room to continue on the assignments she had not yet completed.

When that day came, Draco made sure that Hermione was comfortable. She sat next to Draco on the Hogwarts Express. He wore his black turtleneck and slacks. Hermione felt somewhat underdressed compared to him. She just wore her jeans and long sleeved white shirt under her pink coat. She should've known to dress up when going to the Malfoy Manor. Hermione felt uneasy during the train ride. The more and more Draco noticed this, the tighter he held her hand.

"It's going to be ok. Don't worry so much," Draco said to her. Of course, he himself was worried. He had to talk to his parents, and it didn't involve Hermione completely. He knew that there was no way they were going to accept Hermione. Although, now that he had came of age they couldn't treat him as a child. Midway through the train ride, Hermione let out a heavy sigh. Draco looked at her. "Hermione, don't be so worried. Everything will be ok," he told her again.

Shaking a little, Hermione said, "You don't even know that. Draco, your parents hate me. They despise me. They want me dead damnit." Draco couldn't say anything because he knew she was right. "Am I too underdressed?" she asked finally. Looking at her clothes, Draco didn't want to say the truth. He had just stayed silent. "I am." She groaned and threw her head back on her seat.

"Don't worry about them," Draco told her.

"It's not them I'm worried about," she replied.

They sat in silence for a while. When the train stopped, so did Hermione's heart. She mumbled to herself and clung onto Draco for her dear life. "Ouch. Hermione, loosen up please. You're cutting off my circulation," Draco said once Hermione held onto him too tight. She did loosen her grip but she was still shaking like a leaf. Draco stood up and took his and Hermione's things. "Come on," he said. He put the bags on the floor and extended his arm to her. She slowly took his hand and stood up.

At this point, the train compartment seemed to be Hermione's only sanctuary. Now that she was being pulled away, she wanted to grip the closest thing and beg to stay aboard. As much as she wanted to kick and scream and go back to school, she stayed silent and walked behind Draco. What to be in store for her, she couldn't be sure. It wasn't that she couldn't trust Draco, it was what he had planned in that blond head of his. He looked back at her and smiled reassuringly. He looked back at the platform as they got off the train.

"Umm...Draco," Hermione said as she quickly walked behind through the crowd of students reunited with their families for the holiday.

"Oh finally! She speaks," Draco laughed. Hermione stopped walking and put her hands on her hips. Draco looked back at her. He smiled and walked to her. He let go of the luggage and put his arms around her waist. "I'm sorry love. Now, what were you going to say?"

Hermione looked at him and gave him a half smile. "I was going to say that," she paused. "I was just going to say that I'm glad I get to spend my holiday with you."

Draco smiled and kissed her. "Thanks for saying that. You don't know how much that means to me." He turned around and took the bags again. They both started to walk again and stopped near the end of the platform. "A carriage should arrive soon to take us back to the manor," Draco says, looking back at Hermione. A fake smile told him everything. His smile faded. "Hermione, I still don't get what you're so worried about," he said.

Hermione shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing." Draco still had a frown on his face. You could tell how upset he felt. "I'm sorry Draco," she said. She went to him and hugged him. She rested her head on his chest and saw someone coming toward her and Draco. Hermione got a clearer view of the person and saw that it was a man. He was quite tall, almost as tall as Draco. He seemed to be in his mid 30's. He was thin and wore a black suit.

He came closer to them and put his hands behind his back. "Mister Malfoy," said the man.

Draco let go of Hermione and looked at the man. He nodded to him and he led Draco and Hermione outside to a carriage with their bags in hand.

They got outside to a black carriage with the Malfoy crest on the side of it. The man with Hermione and Draco's bags rushed to the door and opened it for the two. He put the bags in the back of the carriage and rushed to the front. As the carriage began to move, Hermione stared outside the window and sighed. She wasn't afraid of Draco's parents. It was what they had in store for her.

When Hermione and Draco arrived to Malfoy Manor, Hermione was not surprised at what she saw. A very large, beautifully crafted mansion with a large, well kept front lawn. Regardless of all of its beauty, Hermione found it cold and un welcoming.

"You call this home," Hermione asked.

Smirking, Draco said, "Yup." Hermione couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. Yes, the Malfoys do show that they are cold hearted people but that's in public alone. Hermione couldn't imagine how either one of Draco's parents acted within their home with a muggleborn present.

The driver of the carriage had taken Draco and Hermione's bags and led them up the stone pathway through the lawn to the large, dark wood doors. Draco took Hermione's hand in his and softly said, "Don't be afraid of my parents."

Hermione replied, "I told you. It's not them I'm worried about. Once they made it to the door, Draco's smirk became bigger. he opened the doors and marched in. It was obvious he was glad to be home. The inside of the Manor reflected the mood outside had. Beautiful, yes, but still cold and un welcoming to Hermione.

Paintings lined the walls with carefully lit, white candles to the side of them. The walls were emerald and black, even with candles lit, the room was cold. Hermione rubbed her arms and looks around. She felt like she was in a haunted house on Halloween. Draco took Hermione into the next room.

Large, spacious and expensive. Three words that came into Hermione's mind. There was a large stone fireplace alone a wall and was burning strongly. Over the fireplace was a portrait. A portrait of the family that inhabited the manor. Lucius Malfoy; standing erect and neatly beside his wife Narcissa who had stood behind their son Draco Malfoy. This portrait must have been done when Draco was at least 11. He was small in front of his father and his mother. His hair slicked back and wore the look of superiority he had always worn until now.

Black velvet couches were nicely fitted around the room with a fine, smooth oak table in the middle with a glass center. Draco sat Hermione down on one of the couches. "You don't know how excited I am right now. Having you here with me just brings joy to me," Draco says. For the first time on that day Hermione had given Draco a genuine smile.

"Is that my Draco I hear downstairs," says the voice of a woman. Draco stands and Hermione looks back. She noticed a grand staircase that extended to the second floor with a burgundy carpet over brown marble. At the top of the staircase stood the one and only Narcissa. Her long blonde hair wrapped in a single ribbon.

"Speak of the Devil," Hermione murmured. Draco went to the foot of the staircase and greeted his mother.

"I got your letter. Now who is this guest you mentioned," Narcissa asked. Her smile was bright as she faced her son.

Draco turned around and looked at Hermione. He went back to the couch and took her hand. "Mother. This is Hermione Granger. She is my girlfriend."

Narcissa's smile had long gone. She gapped at her son. "G-Granger? Well...Draco what happened to Pansy? Pansy Parkinson?" Hermione glared at Narcissa and she glared back. "I can't believe this. My only son in a relationship with a mudblood. Granger of all people!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "I don't care of what father thinks anymore. I love Hermione and that's that!"

Narcissa quickly (yet gracefully) came down the stairs. She stood a good distance away from the couch Draco and Hermione were. "You don't love...this," she said, pointing to Hermione.

Hermione stood. "Excuse me," she exclaimed. Narcissa gasped and looked away with a look of disgust.

"Bring her back. I do not want her in my home," Narcissa said, still looking away.

Draco clenched his fist and said, "No. She is staying for the holiday and will not leave until we go back to school." His mother's face explained how furious she was. "Go ahead. Tell father Hermione is here. I don't care." With that, Draco took Hermione's hand and took her upstairs to the room she would stay in.

Inside the room he put her on her bed and began to pace around. As Draco paced, Hermione looked. Her gaze quickly went from Draco's blond head to the walls. The deep, shining ivory green walls distracted her from Draco when he started to rant.

Hermione felt that she was pushed into a room of luxury. The sheets were satin and deep green, she mattress was so soft and comfortable, on the wall across from her was a door leading to her own bathroom, there were two bookcases on both sides of the large glass door leading to her balcony. Hermione had her own fireplace that lit automatically when she entered the room. She smiled and fell back onto the bed.

For a second, Draco stopped moving and ranting and looked at Hermione. He saw how she stretched herself out on her bed with the smile on her face. He walked over to the bed and sat down. Hermione lied on her side and rested her head on her palm. She looked at Draco. "So far this isn't going how I wanted it to," Draco said.

"It doesn't matter Draco. I was expecting this actually," Hermione responded. Draco heaved a sigh. Hermione sat up and wrapped her arms around Draco. "How about we make the best of this?"

Draco stayed silent. "I know your right. But first I have to prepare for what my mother's gonna do."

Hermione put her hands on his shoulders and kiss his cheek. "Let's take care of this tomorrow ok?"

Draco looked at her and nodded. He faced her and smiled. He kissed her lips and she slowly moved back onto the bed. They lied there kissing for a while before Draco decided to go to his own room for some rest. Hermione changed into her pajamas and got comfortable in her bed. She felt comfortable and slowly dazed into sleep, her worries what lies ahead washing away.

a/n: sorry this took so long! the next chap coming up faster!


	10. What Does Narcissa Know?

A/n: ok NOW its chapter 10. yay!

The dining room was tense the next morning. Hermione did not look up from her oatmeal. Draco just let his fork wander around his plate. Narcissa sat stiffly away from Draco and Hermione. "Draco, the suspense is killing me," Hermione whispered as she looked at Draco from the corner of her eye.

"I know. I didn't expect mother to explode and then hold a grudge," Draco whispered back.

"Draco," Narcissa said firmly from her seat. Both Draco and Hermione straightened at the sound of her voice. Draco turned to his mother slightly and nodded. "Draco there is a Christmas ball being held at your dear friend Blaise Zabini's home."

"Okay...and," Draco said with a blank expression.

Narcissa was quite taken aback by her son's tone to her. "And," she begun, "Since your father isn't around, it would be inappropriate for me to go alone."

Draco looked at Narcissa and said, "Mother, I was going whether or not you wanted me to go with you or not. I was going to go with Hermione and-" He was cut off by Narcissa.

"She is not going."

Draco's face fell and Hermione looked back down at her oatmeal. "I don't think you have a say in that," Draco snapped.

"Don't you dare get that tone with me," Narcissa hissed. "Draco, if you take her to that ball you will _ruin _the Malfoy reputation!"

By this time, both Draco and Narcissa were out of their seats. "I don't care anymore!"

"You don't seem to care about anything do you!"

Hermione stayed silent in her seat and shook. After Narcissa spoke, Hermione raced out of her seat and ran upstairs to her room.

"Do you see what you did mother," Draco yelled. he left the dining room and went straight to Hermione's room. Inside, Hermione was not in her sleeping chambers but her bathroom door was open and a stream began to pour out. He looked through the door and knocked twice. "Hermione? Are you ok," he asked.

The silver and marble bathroom was fogged with steam and on the black marble counter was Hermione's Mary Jane's. "Hermione," Draco called again. He walked further into the bathroom and found Hermione's white button-up shirt on the floor.

Draco smirked and came to the main source of the steam. The large silver bathtub was filled with hot water. Draco leaned on the wall closest to him and watched Hermione undress for her shower.

"I still don't understand WHY you brought me here Draco," she said without looking at him.

"I didn't want to leave you. Plus, I thought this would be a great way to spend our first holidays together," he replied simply.

"With your _mother?!_"

Draco shrugged. "I didn't expect this to happen. I was expecting her to get a little upset and get over it because I thought she would accept the fact that I love you. I guess not..." He watched Hermione slowly got into the steaming pool of water. "You just need to relax?" Hermione let out a breath and nodded as her eyes closed. Draco walked over to her and stuck his hands in his pocket. He bent down and kissed her forehead. "Let me know when your ready to come out." With that said, he turned away and walked out the bathroom.

* * *

Draco left Hermione's room and went back to the dining room where his mother had still sat. She peered at him and said, "I just don't understand you anymore. You were perfect. My only child. You were going to follow in your father's footsteps but look at you now. In love with a mudblood." 

Angered, Draco had yelled, "You shall say nothing to insult Hermione. And don't lie to me mother! I was NOT your only child. You have lied to me for so long and now that I know the truth I don't think I can even trust you anymore!"

Narcissa did not change her facial expression. She continued to peer at her son from the corner of her eye. "Lie? I have never lied to you my son."

"More lies! If you speak the truth, then who is Virginia Narcissa Malfoy? Hermione had found out about her in a textbook at school. At school!"

Narcissa no longer peered. She stared at the gleaming black dining table. "Draco you must let me explain," she said softly.

"Why? So you can lie to me more," Draco said loudly.

Narcissa bit her lip. She did not want to tell Draco the truth but she didn't want to lie to him neither.

Draco noticed how his mother pondered what she should do. He sighed. "Hermione had dreams about her. Virginia. At school she would wake up screaming because of her. She knew her when she was small."

Narcissa gasped. _They gave her to muggles?_ "Really," she whispered.

"Yes and I want to know more. It was difficult for Hermione to find out what these dreams mean. She doesn't even remember who Virginia is. I'm sure she still doesn't know what the dreams meant. She has something of hers and she's afraid of what will happen if it gets back in her hands."

Thinking, Narcissa tried to remember what it was she and Lucius had given her when they were giving her to the wizards orphanage.

"You know what I'm talking about. Don't you mother?" Draco said. Narcissa stayed silent. He stared at her for a long time before he decided to leave to his room.

Again, Narcissa sat alone in the dining room. She had forgotten of the ring she had given her daughter so long ago. She didn't even know she was alive. _What mother am I to leave my only daughter to an orphanage and have her sent to live with muggles. The horror of her growing up without knowing of the power she possesses. Yet, that was the point of leaving her. Heaven knows what she can do now._

Narcissa held her head in her hands and cried alone in the dining room.

* * *

In Draco's bedroom, he lied on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He was upset with his parents for keeping Virginia from him but he couldn't help but feel sympathy for his mother. It must've been hard on her to leave her only daughter while she's still an infant. Or was she so coldhearted that she didn't care? He didn't know. 

Later, Hermione came knocking at his door. She walked in and sat on his bed. "I heard you and your mother speaking earlier. I didn't mean to eavesdrop but it was difficult to block it out," she said when Draco lied back down. "Are you still going to Blaise's ball or are you going to do something else?"

"We're going. I want to take you shopping for your gown but I have to meet up with Blaise tomorrow."

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What do you need to meet up with Blaise for," she asked.

"It's nothing really. Blaise just wants to show me something."

Unsure, Hermione nodded. "Alright. Then how will I be getting my dress? I could always wear something I have."

"Nonsense. Look, as much as I don't want to, I'll have you go shopping with my mother. She can take you to the shops where they have the best ball gowns you can imagine."

Hermione didn't care about gowns. She didn't even want to go to this ball. She just wanted to spend time with Draco without interruptions. "Ok. Err...When am I going again?"

"Tomorrow," he answered.

Shit! Hermione thought. She pulled on her best, fake smile and said, "Great. Great. Well I just wanted to know. I'll see you later Draco." She stood up and went back to her room. She jumped onto her bed and screamed into the pillow. _A day with Narcissa Malfoy. Oh the horror! I hope we don't get anything to eat so she can poison me. Shit, shit, shit!_

Hermione thought. She pulled on her best, fake smile and said, "Great. Great. Well I just wanted to know. I'll see you later Draco." She stood up and went back to her room. She jumped onto her bed and screamed into the pillow. 

A/N: More apologies of the long wait. SORRY! r&r plzzz


	11. Shopping With Mother

A/n: chapter...umm...o right 11! hope u like

Hermione dreaded the morning. House elves would come into her room and open the curtains of the window of the window leading to the balcony. That made the most light get through into the room. Hermione moaned and covered her head with her quilt.

"Miss Granger must be ready for Mrs. Malfoy," squeaked the house elf. Hermione waved her arms from under the quilt.

"I'm coming," she moaned. The house elf left and Hermione remained in bed. She did not want to go shopping with the devil's bride. She would like it if she could just get her dress from Diagon Alley. But no!

Later, Draco knocked on her door and said, "Come on Hermione. Wake up." Hermione cursed at him and he left. She finally got out of bed and walked to her bathroom. She took a shower and had pulled on gray dress pants and a black turtle neck from her bag. She had walked downstairs and met Draco in the living room. "Looks like someone had a late start," Draco said, chuckling.

Hermione gave him a tired glare and his chuckling ceased. "Tell me again why I must shop with your mother," Hermione asked, biting back the urge to insult her.

"Because, mother knows the finest shops for such occasions as this."

Oh, so "Murdering Your Boyfriend's Mother" is a occasion? Hermione thought.

Minutes later, a house elf had scurried into the room and squeaked, "The carriage awaits Miss Granger outside."

Once the house elf was dismissed by Draco, Hermione said, "I hope you know that I hate the fact that you and your mother use house elves here." Draco said nothing and grabbed Hermione a coat from the closet. He had given her the coat and lead her outside the Manor to the carriage that had indeed awaited her outside the Manor gates.

"Enjoy yourself," Draco said as he opened the door for Hermione and kissed her cheek. He looked at his mother inside the carriage and said stiffly, "Mother." Narcissa had nodded her head in acknowledgment. "See you soon love," he said to Hermione in a happier tone. Hermione gave him a small smile and the carriage took off.

* * *

Forced by Draco, Narcissa had taken Hermione to the shops for the gown they would be wearing at Blaise's Christmas ball. Narcissa was surely unpleased. She had refused to go in public with Hermione at first. Then Draco had found a way to persuade his mother into letting Hermione go with her. 

"All you have to do is stay away from me," Narcissa had told Hermione before they had arrived at their destination. The ride to town had been uncomfortable and silent. As soon as Hermione and Narcissa left the carriage, Narcissa parted from Hermione.

The streets were crowded but nothing like Diagon Alley. The streets of Diagon Alley were unorganized and filled with chatter while where Hermione stood, people spoke in low whispers amongst themselves. The fronts of the shops weren't cluttered with merchandise. Hermione slowly started walked down the sleek stone street and looked through the windows of the obviously dignified shops. One held exquisite jewelry and accessories. Another sold beautiful shoes. Many held dresses with beauty beyond measure.

There was a store that had caught Hermione's eye. **_Angel Christian's Formal Ball Gowns_**. Through the window Hermione had stared at the line of cocktail dresses and evening gowns. She walked closer to the window and noticed a tall figure inside arguing with a worker. It was Narcissa. _Oh dear Lord have mercy_, thought Hermione. Hermione had walked inside the store and saw Narcissa gripping a piece of clothing in her long, manicured fingers. She turned and looked at Hermione with contempt.

Hermione paid Narcissa no attention and looked around. There was such a selection. As much as she enjoyed being in such a shop, she knew she couldn't be able to afford anything in this store. She also knew Narcissa wouldn't let her borrow a sickle for anything. While her back was turned, someone had tapped on her shoulder. Hermione turned around and saw a teenager about a year younger than her with black and bright pink, spiked hair. "Do you need help?" she had asked.

Hermione had bit her lip and nodded. The teenager pulled down her black t-shirt and asked, "Well, do you know what your looking for?"

"A dress," Hermione said.

"Well obviously," the teenager said, laughing.

Hermione chuckled a little bit. "Well, I'm going to this Christmas ball soon and-"

"Say no more," the teenage worker said. "I know something that would fit you perfectly."

Before Hermione would say anything, the teenager had zipped past her and went to the back room. Hermione stared in the direction the teenager had ran. Then minutes later, the teenager with the black and pink hair came back with a large plastic bag. Inside the bag Hermione saw something glittering red. "It will look stunning on you!" the teenager said excitedly.

Hermione smiled. The teenager brought her to a platform and put a curtain around it. She gave her the bag. "Put it on. If there's any problems, I'll fix them." Hermione glanced over at Narcissa. Her fingers still entwined in the fabric of the dress. The worker assisting her was trying to get the dress out of her hands. She looked over at Hermione and noticed what she was doing.

Impossible, both Narcissa and Hermione thought. The curtain was removed and Hermione was revealed. She stood on that platform in a beautiful full length gown in the deepest red wine color. In the soft satin this dress had intricate beadwork on the bodice, beautiful rose detailing at the waste and embroidery crossing over the loops they made.

"Wow," said the teenager. Hermione had fit perfectly into the dress. The bodice hugged her nice and tight. Hermione smiled big and spun around. "I knew it would look fabulous on you!"

Narcissa nearly ripped through the fabric with her nails. "Ma'am," said that aged worker assisting Narcissa. Slowly but surely the worker had gotten the dress out of her clutches.

"Get out of that dress Granger," exclaimed Narcissa.

The teenager had gotten on her knees and attended to the hem of the dress. She held the needle but looked back at Narcissa. "If you wear that you will look ridiculous!" Hermione put her hands on her waist and raised an eyebrow. "The color is hideous and the design is purely unseasonable. The fact that this store even _serves_ muggleborns disgusts me."

Narcissa strutted out of the store with her nose in the air. Everyone in the shop had watched the incident. "Don't worry about her," said the aged worker, "Narcissa Malfoy wouldn't know fashion even if it bit her in her ass. She's mad that one."

The teenager worker and Hermione laughed. "The hem of this is about done," the teenage worker said.

Hermione smiled again at herself. "That you for everything but I can't afford this."

The teenager waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it." She stood up and put down the needle. "Hey, I have some friends who work around here. Tell 'em you know me. They'll know the rest." She winked and waved her wand. The curtain went up and Hermione took off her dress.

When the curtain went down, there was no sign of that teenage girl with the black and pink spiked hair. "Where'd she go?" Hermione asked the aged worker.

Puzzled, the worker asked, "Where did who go dear?"

"That girl who fixed the hem of my dress" Hermione said, holding up the bag that held the dress.

Looking closely at the bag, the worker said, "The hem of that dress never needed to be fixed."

Hermione frowned. "But she was just here." The worker shrugged and walked away with the dress Narcissa had almost damaged. Hermione walked out of the store and looked up and down the streets.

The same attraction Hermione had felt for the last store arose for this one. In the window there was diamond studded shoes and ice cold jewelry. Hermione walked in with the dress at hand. The store was crowded and Hermione wanted to turn back but didn't.

Another teenage worker had came up to Hermione and asked, "You're her friend aren't you?" This girl had long brown hair with purple and blond highlights. Hermione looked puzzled. "Her. The girl who gave you this dress," she said motioning to the dress.

"Err..." Hermione said. "I guess."

The girl nodded her head and took Hermione's free hand. "Come. There's something you need to have. She wanted you to have these." Hermione was confused. The girl from the other store was the one who told her to tell her friends about her. The more Hermione thought about it, the more she got confused. The girl with the oddly colored hair had taken Hermione to the back room and let go of her hand. She got on a ladder and got a large box. When she got down she opened the box and gave a pair of shoes to Hermione.

At the sight of the shoes made Hermione's eyes widen. They were silver and had a 3 inch heel. Strap sandal shoes with a diamond clasp. "And who exactly wanted me to have these again?" Hermione stuttered.

"_Her_" the girl said.

"Who exactly is her?" Hermione asked. The girl shook her head and went back into the box.

"She also wanted you to have this." She stuck her hand into the box and took out a necklace. She put it in Hermione's hand and she nearly fainted. The necklace had a magnificent centerpiece with a single large crystal. It was surrounded by clear crystals in an open pattern. The necklace was 18 inches long and the centerpiece itself is 2 inches long. "Oh and this." The girl had delicately passed earrings to Hermione. The earrings had matched the earrings. They were chandelier crystal earrings and were 2 inches long.

"I don't understand. I only the knew the girl for 5 minutes and she wants me to have all this?" Hermione said, looking at the extravagant items in her hands.

"You're right. You don't understand. It's more than that," said the teenage girl. "But you'll understand soon enough." She took the things back and put them in the box. "Here. It seems that your shopping is done." She gave Hermione a pleasant smile.

"Oi! Who's back here?" shouted a deep male voice.

Hermione turned around. "Oh, I'm with her," she said, pointing to the teenage girl.

"Who?" the man said.

Hermione turned back and the girl was gone. "But...but she was just here a second ago."

"I don't know what your talking about ma'am but customers aren't allowed back here," he said.

Sighing, Hermione nodded and left the back room.

Later, Hermione had walked toward the carriage and looked around for Narcissa. When she looked straight forward she saw her getting into the carriage, not even bothering to tell the driver to wait. "Narcissa!" Hermione yelled. She ignored Hermione. She picked up her walking pace and opened the door just as the carriage was to leave. "What exactly is your **problem**?!" Again, Narcissa ignored. Hermione sucked her teeth and looked out the window as the carriage began to move.

When they got back to the Manor, Hermione trudged through the gates and got inside. She got a tighter grip on her things and ran to her room. She stuck the dress in the closet and put the box under her bed. While she was there, she took out another box from under her bed.

While she was there, she took out another box from under her bed. She looked at it for a minute before she unlocked it. Then she carefully took out the silver chain necklace with the ring on it.

The ring still had the words in a dim light. _Its not over. There are still some things left in the dark._ Hermione thought.

A/n: cliffhanger type thing? idk. r&r


	12. Damnit Virginia, You Did It Again

A/n: alrighty then. chapter 12!

On the night of the Christmas ball, Hermione had spent most of her time in the bathroom. She honestly didn't want to go but it seemed to mean a lot to Draco to make it to his best friend's ball. "Are you ready yet?" Draco asked from Hermione's bedroom.

"Almost" Hermione responded.

"You were almost ready for an hour!"

Hermione put her hair up and put on the crystal necklace. She put on the earrings and sighed. She looked beautiful but for what? For a little dance and be bored the whole night? She stepped out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. Draco's eyes widened. "Wow," he said. Hermione smiled. She went over to her bed and had the locked box on it. She opened it and took out Virginia's ring. "What do you need that for? You already have a necklace on."

She nodded, "I know. But I feel like I need this tonight."

"Ok then." Draco took her hand and lead her out of her room. They walked down the stairs to the living room and left to the main hall. Out in the main hall was Narcissa. She wore a blue velvet wrapper made of thirty yards of blue French silk velvet with a fox fur trim. "Don't you look beautiful mother," Draco said. Narcissa said nothing but gave her son a knowing look.

Hermione had walked with Draco outside the Manor and to a carriage. The nights sky shined bright with stars. Hermione looked up and gazed. "How beautiful," she said.

Draco took her hand and said, "I know you are." She looked at him and smiled. Narcissa saw this and rolled her eyes. She tightened the fur around her.

They all entered the carriage and waited for it to move. "Your going to have fun tonight," Draco said, "I promise."

Those words floated around in Hermione's head. _Promise_. Hermione had become sick of that word. Narcissa had stayed silent the whole ride. She stared outside the window and minded her own business. Whatever it may be.

Hermione was nervous. Even with her fingers entwined with Draco, her hand shook and she continuously fidgeted with the ring in her other hand. The closer Blaise's mansion became, the more Hermione rubbed the ring. She didn't even see the light slowly increasing.

Hermione felt a gust of cold hair go through the window and wrap around her. She looked at Draco and he seemed as if he didn't notice. She glanced at Narcissa and she too ignored the wind. Maybe it was only her who felt it.

"I don't have a good feeling about this," Hermione whispers to Draco. She squeezes his hand lightly.

He squeezes it back. "Don't worry Hermione." Draco always seemed to be telling her not to worry. he never wanted to hear what Hermione had to say. So she thought.

After a long ride, the carriage had stopped and the driver opened the door. Hermione exited the carriage and rubbed her arms with her hands. "She had still felt cold air wrap around her.

Narcissa walked passed her as if she was of no importance. Draco got to Hermione and took her arm into his. "I'm serious. I do not have a good feeling about this," she said.

"Maybe your just cold," responded Draco.

"No. Well yea I'm cold but that's not what I'm talking about!"

"We'll talk about it later."

Draco had escorted Hermione through the open wooden doors into the main entry into the home of Blaise Zabini. Everything seemed blurry just then to Hermione. She hardly felt Draco's arm in hers. She felt numb. The only thing she felt was heat. Heat from her hand that held the chain and ring.

...The light grew brighter...

Hermione's eyes were blurred and unable to see anything. She heard lots of chatter and music. She and Draco must have entered the ballroom.

Soon, the noise of chatter and music died down.

Then everything faded to black. Hermione spun around and looked for anything that could help her determine where she was. She found nothing. She was nowhere but a black room. Hell, it wasn't even a room.

"Draco," she called.

"Blaise?"

"Narcissa," she said desperately.

She heard giggles. She spun again. "Hello?" The giggling consisted and tiny footsteps started. Hermione backed up and said, "Who's there?!" She spun in every direction she heard the giggles and footsteps came from.

"Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack all dressed in black, black, black," two little girls sang cheerfully.

Hermione shivered at the song. The giggling girls paused. The footsteps became louder and Hermione moved back further.

More giggles.

"She has a knife, knife, knife stuck in her back, back, back," they continued to sing.

"Please stop it," Hermione pleaded.

Giggles.

Hermione falls to her knees. Her red wine dress surrounding her. She clutched the ring in her hand and brought it to her chest. She looked at it and the light shined brighter. "I believe that's mine," said a silky, female voice. Hermione looked up and saw her. Virginia Malfoy in her finest. She had worn the same red wine dress as Hermione. her blond hair put up with a ribbon and her eyes glittered.

Virginia had extended her hand for her ring. Hermione stayed still with her eyes wide. Her eyes darted to Virginia's side and noticed her hand with a wand. "Oh come on Mimi," Virginia said sarcastically. The longer Hermione stood still, the more annoyed Virginia became. "Hermione give me my ring!"

Hermione slowly stood up and looked down at the ring. "No," she whispered.

Virginia narrowed her eyes. "What did you say?" she said threateningly.

Hermione looked up. "I said no," she stammered.

"Fine," Virginia, "I'll just take it." She lifted her wand and have it a crisp wave. Hermione widened her eyes and ran. She had no idea what direction she was going in but whatever got her away from Virginia would help. Hermione looked back and kept running until she could no longer see Virginia. She slowed down and panted. She turned her head again and saw her. She screamed. "Don't make this hard."

Hermione backed away. Virginia's wand was still pointing at her. "Just give me the ring," she said. Hermione shook her head. She looked around her into the darkness. She looked back into the piercing gray eyes before her. She was terrified. **_For V. N. M. without this ring, she doesn't have the unique power. _**Hermione remembered this from the book.

While she had remembered, Virginia took this moment to retrieve her ring. She gave her wand another crisp wave and the ring floated out of Hermione's hands. The ring flew to her and she caught it in her free hand.

"No!" Hermione screamed.

Virginia held the ring in her hand. It trembled and she smiled maliciously. She closed her eyes and breathed in.

Hermione stared at her with horror. She put on the chain and the light shined brightly. Hermione backed away more and was about to run. Before she could, the ground beneath her feet shook violently. She fell onto the floor onto her back and hit her head. The ground continued to shake as Hermione tried to sit up and rubbed her head.

Virginia closed her eyes tighter and furrowed her eyebrows concentration. The ground shook more and more. Hermione looked around and saw pieces of darkness crack. Like paint, blackness chipped off all around. Hermione had saw a piece of glass one side of her, she saw marble flooring while she was on the floor.

Oh dear Lord have mercy, thought Hermione. Bits and bits of blackness continued to chip off. Then bits and bits of a new scenery came into place.

Hermione had attempted to stand up and keep her balance against the rumble and shake of the ground.

"I don't get it," she yelled over to Virginia. "Why are you doing this?"

Virginia did not answer. She kept her eyes closed and concentrated.

Desperate to escape, Hermione looked around for anything, **anything** to get her away. As Virginia's eyes were still closed Hermione wanted to find a way to run. She saw a big part of the new scenery revealed. As pieces of blackness chipped away, Hermione ran for somewhere that might be her only sanctuary. The longer she ran in those heels she wore, the more distance she was from the hole. She pushed her self and when she got close to her destination, she jumped.

Hermione got through and landed back in the ballroom of Blaise's mansion. Everyone gasped and stepped back. Draco ran forward to her. "Hermione? Are you ok?"

Hermione lied on the floor. "Owww," she moaned.

Draco smiled and let out a sigh of relief, thankful Hermione was alive. "Are you ok?" he asked again.

"What do you think," Hermione snapped. She furrowed her eyebrows and tried to sit up. _Spending a lot of time on the ground._ "I told you Draco. I told you I had a bad feeling about this!" she said angrily to Draco.

Draco looked puzzled. He slowly helped Hermione stand up. "What's going on?"

"Your sister that's what!" she yelled.

Everyone got quiet and stared at the couple.

"Lies!" yelled Narcissa. She pushed through the large crowd and came to the middle. "This girl speaks nothing but lies!"

Draco let go of Hermione and faced Narcissa. "No mother, its you who speaks lies." Everyone began to whisper.

Narcissa raised an eyebrow and brought her nose to the air. "Draco. Don't act a fool for a mudblood!"

Draco had given Narcissa an ice cold glare and the whispers grew louder. He turned to everyone and said, "Oh shut up will you!" And shut up they did.

He turned to Narcissa again and said, "I'm not acting a fool. You are. You've been lying to everyone saying you've only had one child. I guess they don't read because it says different in the text books at school. Mother I have a sister. A little sister. Even if only by a few minutes but a little sister nonetheless.

Narcissa looked away. She closed her eyes and sighed. "I had to. Your father and I couldn't keep her."

"Why not," he asked in a softer tone.

"There was something wrong with her. Once we gave her her ring, everything went wrong. We had then realized that she had held a power way beyond our control. We had to give her up no matter how much I didn't want to."

Hermione had walked over to Draco's side and looked at Narcissa's expression. She couldn't help but notice a tear roll down the older woman's face.

"Why didn't you just destroy the ring," Hermione asked.

Narcissa shook her head. "It's not that simple. Her ring was made before she was even born. The black magic inside it can't be broken so easily. I'm not even sure it can be broken at all." She crossed her arms close to her and opened her eyes. She looked at Hermione and Draco. "What Virginia can do is...dangerous. I didn't think that she would come back to haunt me."

Hermione went to Narcissa and looked up to her. "She's not here to haunt. She's alive and I don't know what her motive is. This has been happening to me all year. All I accomplished was figure out who she was."

Narcissa looked at Hermione and asked, "She's here?"

Hermione looked around the room. She looked up to the ceiling. "Yes."

"Well? Where is she?"

"That's the thing. I don't know."

Hermione looked back to Draco and he looked at her. She touched her neck. Like she feared, the necklace was gone. "Draco, I really have to go. Before something else goes wrong." Hermione lifted the skirt of her dress and started to walk away.

When she got to the doorframe of the room, someone said, "Oh look Mimi! We're twins." Hermione froze.

Expecting to hear footsteps come toward her, she heard them get away from her instead. She turned around and saw Virginia walk toward the group of people who were deeper in the room. The large ring shined around her neck. This frightened most of the guests.

She walked to Narcissa and Draco. She looked at Draco with a quizzing look on her face and touched his. "You look like me. Are we related?"

Draco grimaced and backed away from Virginia. "Unfortunately," he said to her. "And you didn't know this?"

Virginia gripped her wand behind her back. "I knew of no family members. Except my mother." She looked at Narcissa with full eyes.

Narcissa didn't dare meet her daughter's eyes. "Why are you here?" she asked. Her voice started to break.

"I had to find you," Virginia said in a softer tone.

Draco crossed his arms and said, "Then what does that have to do with Hermione?"

Virginia looked from Draco to Hermione. "Now she-" She pointed her wand at Hermione, "Is another story."

"Then share," said Draco, "We definitely have nowhere to go." He looked at Hermione and gave her a slight not to tell her it was safe for her to move.

Hermione slowly walked over to Draco and fiddled with the crystal on her necklace.

Virginia contemplated on what she should say. "Hermione had broken a promise she made to me 10 years ago," she started.

Already, Hermione had broken in. "I still don't have any idea of what your talking about."

"Yes you do! You were there!"

"You're the one who wiped my memory!"

"You're the one who slowed me down to seeing my own mother!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?!"

"You saw it Granger! All year I've been watching your every move. Making sure my clues were falling in the right place. And you saw it. You were in that muggle office and you told her. You told her I ran so all the muggle police forces went after me. Looking for me. You don't realize how long it took me to get out of the damn muggle world. I hadn't even known I was a witch until I set a cop car on fire when I was angry they were looking for me."

"How did you even know they were looking for you?" Hermione questioned.

"I was getting to that if you'll let me" Virginia snapped. She went on. "At first, all was going well. I was a curious 7 year old girl destined to find her real family. I had never been without my foster mother so it was an experience--"

As Virginia spoke, Draco slowly reached into his blazer pocket and took out his wand. Hermione tugged on his sleeve. "No. Don't." she mouthed to him. He had not listened.

"I saw news reports on the t.vs being sold in shops down the center I mentioned and-" When Virginia was about to finish, she stopped abruptly. She held her wand and pointed it at Draco. "Don't you _dare_ point your wand at me when my back is turned."

Draco stood his ground and kept his wand steadily at his sister. "Your mind is twisted and your soul is cold. And besides, I'm not letting my _little_ sister tell me what to do."

Virginia's eyes filled with hatred. She forgot her mother was still there. "Crucio" she yelled. Draco screamed. He fell into such immense pain that he fell to his knees.

"Virginia! Stop!" Hermione yelled. Narcissa screeched and covered her face with her hands.

"You think you're tough?" Virginia asked as she watched Draco writhe in pain. She twisted her wand which made Draco scream even more.

Hermione couldn't take this. She moved her tear filled eyes away from her boyfriend. She caught a glimpse of Narcissa crying her eyes out. She looked down at the floor and saw Draco's wand lying near her feet. She stretched out her arm and tried to grip the wand, regardless of her shaking hand.

At first a blast came out of the wand as soon as she touched it. _The wand chooses the wizard._ "No" she whispered. She closed her eyes and a tear came down her cheek. Draco's pain filled screams rang into her ears again.

The tear that fell landed on Draco's wand. Just like that, the wand came into Hermione's hand. Her eyes widened. She tightened her grip on it and looked up. She aimed the wand at Virginia.

"S-S-Stupefy" she whispered. A jet of red light fired at Virginia.

Straight away, Virginia let out a yelp and got blasted into a wall. Draco was on the floor, lying on his back. Hermione let go of his wand and ran to his side. Narcissa came along with a tear streamed face.

Narcissa bent over him and held his head with her hand. "Draco...Draco say something," she begged.

Draco moaned and blinked a few times. He sat up and looked at Hermione. "Thanks Hermione," he says lowly. Hermione spoke no words but when she flung her arms around him, Draco knew what she wanted to say.

"I am so happy you're ok," Narcissa said, snatching her son out of Hermione's arms and into her own, smothering him.

"Muum, I'm okay," Draco said having his words muffled by his mother's velvet dress.

"Dray?"

Narcissa, Hermione and Draco all looked up, realizing that they weren't alone in such a grand room.

Blaise came close to them and looked down at his friend. "I think that something needs to be done. I mean come on, its Christmas Even."

Draco nodded. Narcissa and Hermione helped him stand up. Hermione passed him back his wand. "Sorry we made a mess of things man."

Blaise shook his head. "You didn't make that big of a deal. Scared the hell out of a bunch of people though."

Draco put his arm around Hermione. "We're le-"

The ground gave a familiarly violent shake. Hermione gripped onto Draco's arm. _Damn it. _Virginia flung a refreshment table across the room. Her face was red and her hair was out of the ribbon and was sticking out in every direction.

She took out her wand and aimed it at Draco and Hermione. "You two are pathetic, cruel, dimwitted and all you do it cause problems." She was about to yell out a curse.

"Virginia Narcissa Malfoy!"

Virginia looked from Draco and Hermione to Narcissa. "I...I.." she stuttered.

"This is the exact reason I left you to an orphanage. I knew you would be this way. Causing mayhem. Your powers are something no one can control. You can kill someone and you might not even notice!"

Virginia lowered her wand and took a small step back.

"You don't belong in the wizarding world no muggle. Unless you can give me a reason to not give you into the ministry and have you put into Azkaban, you will not touch my son. Unless you give me a valid reason why you belong, you will leave now."

Draco and Hermione stared at Narcissa in astonishment.

Virginia's mouth was open and her eyes told everyone she was broken. "I...don't belong." She dropped her eyes to the floor and mumbled something.

She disappeared.

Everyone began to whisper and walk around the perimeter of the room.

"I'm glad that's over with," Draco said, leaning onto Hermione. She smiled and kissed him. She hugged him tight and looked into his eyes.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he whispered back.

Hermione looked away from Draco. "Narcissa you were..." Hermione's face fell. She saw Narciss's blue velvet dress dragging behind her, out of the ballroom. Hermione looked at Draco with a frown and said, "I'll go talk to her."

Draco nodded and let her go. Hermione picked up the front of the skirt of her gown and ran out of the ballroom. She walked out the main entry of the mansion, into the courtyard. "Narcissa?" Hermione spotted Narcissa sitting on a stone bench in front of a fountain spouting out snow. "Narcissa?" she said again. Narcissa heaved a sigh and looked at Hermione with sad eyes. "What's wrong?"

Narcissa looked at the fountain. "I had just seen someone. Someone I barely even know but someone I gave birth to. My own daughter. I saw her last as a baby. Now seeing her as a young woman scared me. No...it scares me." She felt ashamed of being so weak and vulnerable in front of a muggleborn but sometimes you just have to cry.

Hermione spoke soothing words to the older woman until her tears ceased. "We'll head back to your home and we can all celebrate a peaceful and calm holiday."

Narcissa looked at Hermione and finally, for once, gave her a small smile. "That sounds splendid." she said.

Hermione stood and extended her hand to Narcissa. She had taken it and stood. They had walked back to the ballroom and met up with Draco. "How about we head back?" Hermione said, re linking her arm with his.

He smiled and nodded. "You got it." He looked behind him to Narcissa. "Mother?"

Narcissa sniffed and nodded. "Yes. Let's go home."

a/n: THERES STILL MORE TO GO. n yes i kno its long! D i hope you like it. if your still alive, plz review! i want to kno wat u think about how this chapter came out.


	13. Merry Christmas!

a/n: that was some chapter huh? well here's the next one. enjoy!

Hermione woke up with a small chill in her room. Her eyes fluttered open and woke up with her room filled with a soft light. She sat up and looked toward the glass door to the balcony. She surprised herself that she had never gone outside of that glass door.

She yawned and put on the pair of slippers that sat in front of her bed. She walked to the bathroom and took the silk robe from behind the door. She wrapped it around her and walked to the glass door. She touched the glass and found it cold. She saw white beyond the balcony and a white sheet surrounding the edge of it. She took the handle and opened the door.

Cold air hit her face and blew back her hair. She tightened the robe around her waist and stepped out. The balcony was large and let out a view of the garden on the west side of the manor. Hermione couldn't see much of the manor through the falling snow. With a smile, she lightly touched the rail of the balcony and touched the snow.

She breathed in the cold air and closed her eyes. She absolutely loved the winter. Mostly because of the snow. As a child, she always loved to play in the snow. Ok, getting a little cold here. Hermione turned around and went back inside. She rubbed her arms with her hands. As she took off her robe, Draco knocked on her door. "You awake love?"

"Yes Draco." Hermione replied.

Draco opened the door and closed it behind him. "Morning" he said smiling.

Hermione put the robe on her bed, "Good morning."

Draco walked over to her and put his arms around her waist. "Merry Christmas" he said to her. Then Hermione remembered it was Christmas day. "Lets go downstairs," he said, "There are something's I want you to see."

Hermione smiled. She took his hand and followed him out the room. Draco took her down the large staircase to the living room. Hermione walked in with Draco and gasped. Near the burning fireplace was a very large, very bright and very nicely decorated Christmas tree. On the top held a big star that almost looked real. Under the tree was a large amount of presents. The small ones were on the love seat and the larger ones lied under the tree.

"Wow" Hermione breathed. Narcissa came from behind the tree with a small box with a silver bow on top. She walked up to the couple and gave the box to Hermione. "Oh Narcissa. You shouldn't."

"Just think of it as a little 'thank you' gift." she said with a smile.

"Mother, when did you get this?" Draco asked curiously.

"Well...I just happened to wake up a little earlier than usually this morning and decided to go out to the shops."

Anxiously, Hermione took off the bow and opened the box. Inside was a necklace with a diamond pendent in the shape of a heart. "Wow mum. That's beautiful" Draco said.

"It sure is" Hermione agreed.

"Go on. Take it out. Wear it" Narcissa urged. Draco had taken the box and took out the necklace. He put it around Hermione's neck and connected the clasp.

Hermione was speechless. "Thank you" she said breathlessly.

Narcissa took Hermione away from Draco and took her to the couch opposite the present filled love seat. "This one is from Draco." she said, passing Hermione a slightly larger box.  
Hermione's face lit up when she opened the box. "A book!" she said with a high pitched voice. She took out the thick book and read the title. Elusive Love. "Sometimes love is worth the wait," she read from the corner of the book. The cover was a picture of a lake and a woman on a boardwalk in front of it. It was at sunset and the wind blew the hair and dress of the woman gracefully. The woman looked at Hermione and smiled. Hermione traced the cover around the book with her finger. "I can't wait until I read it."

"I knew you would like it" Draco said, leaning on the couch.

Hermione glanced at the fireplace. She watched as the wood burned and the sparks of fire danced within their stone home. She didn't want to but Hermione's mind wandered to the night before. The way Draco was tortured by his own twin. The way Virginia tried to kill her. Hermione shook her head to rid of the memory but it wouldn't budge. Then she thought the worst. Something bad is going to happen. No. Your wrong. she argued with herself. You know I'm right. You can feel it Granger. Something bad is going to happen. Don't ruin the moment. Hermione kicked the thoughts to the back of her head and looked back at Draco and Narcissa.

They looked happy. Exchanging gifts with each other. Hermione had never known Narcissa could smile as much as she did. She doubted Draco knew either. Yet, Hermione felt a pang of sadness because she did believe something bad was going to happen. Don't think of it now. she thought. She looked away. She had to get out of this room. The longer she lingered, the more she thought of bad things. The more she had those thoughts, her stomach began to go into knots, making Hermione uncomfortable.

"Hermione?"

She had snapped out of her trance and looked back to where Draco and Narcissa sat. Draco sat on the love seat where a bunch of little gifts had stayed. Now the couch was filled with wrapping paper. Draco sat on the love seat alone.

"Err...Where is your mother?" Hermione asked.

Draco looked over his shoulder. "Oh, she left to tend something in the next room."

Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, Hermione asked, "What? By herself?"

Draco cocked his head to the side and chuckled, "Yea. Strange right?"

"Very" she replied.

"Are you insinuating that I can't do a simple task myself?" Narcissa said within the door frame at the back of the room. She held one more present in her hands.

"You've surprised me this year mum. You're certainly in the giving spirit," Draco said.

"Well Draco," Narcissa said a matter-of-factly, "This year a new light shined and this specific light showed me that there isn't anything wrong with a little giving here and there. So this light just so happens to deserve something special." Narcissa placed the present on Hermione's lap.

"Oh no Narcissa. You had already given me this necklace. I can't accept anything else."

"No, no, no" Narcissa disagreed, "This one was made special for you. If you reject it then it would just be a waste."

Hermione eyed the box on her lap. She smiled finally. "Oh fine." She tore up the delicate wrapping paper and opened the cardboard box inside.

"Why does she get all the good stuff?" Draco pouted.

"No worried dear. There's one for you in there too."

Hermione reached into the box and pulled out a soft fabric. "Um..."she said, looking a little puzzled.

Draco took out the second fabric. Equally soft, but his was larger. "I don't get it. What is it?" he asked.

Narcissa sucked her teeth. She stood and took his fabric. She straightened it out and revealed it was a cloak. Draco's inner fabric was emerald and silk. On the front was the Hogwarts crest. "Sooo...You got us new school cloaks?" Draco asked, still confused.

"No you silly boy," Narcissa said, throwing his cloak at him. "There's something special inside these cloaks."

Draco took his and looked around it. He stuck his hand inside the pocket. "In here?" he asked.

"Stop acting a fool Draco," Narcissa said, not amused. "No, not in the pockets. In the fabric. It was made special for you."

Hermione observed her cloak. She looked closely at the black thread. She saw something sparkle. "Whoa," she said. "What's inside? Well...as in, what does it do?"

"That is for you to find out," she said.

Hermione sighed. Great. Another mystery.

"Well, they are quite stylish," Draco said, wrapping the cloak around him. Narcissa and Hermione laughed at him and Hermione threw a ball of wrapping paper at him.

"I don't know about you but I'm hungry," Hermione said, folding the cloak and placing it on the cushion next to her.

Draco nodded quickly, "Me too."

Narcissa paused to think. "Oh ok. Let's get dressed and go out and get something to eat."

Before she even finished the sentence, Draco had raced up to his room. Hermione let out a chuckle. "I should go shower." She stood and with the box her necklace came in, her cloak and her new book, she walked upstairs to her bedroom. She placed her gifts on her bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

She was so relieved that she could take a shower without tense muscles and a drifting, worried mind. About time that V.N.M. business was over with. she thought. Just like she was interrupted while she was staring into the fireplace, unwelcome thoughts invaded her mind._ She's not dead! She was just hurt by Narcissa. She'll get over it and she'll get over it soon._

When that happens she will come back. More angry and thirstier for revenge. "Oh dammit; leave me alone!"

When Hermione was finished with her shower, the bathroom was quiet and everything glass was fogged with steam. She put on a robe and went back to her room. By looking outside the glass door she saw that it was still cloudy and cold. She looked inside her closet and pulled out her clothes. What a happy holiday it is, she thought.

* * *

Draco, Hermione, and Narcissa sat around a table in an elegant restaurant for breakfast. "I'm having such a good time," Hermione said after Narcissa told a story about one of Draco's first holidays away from home. Quite amusing actually.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. Now you are welcome back anytime you like," Narcissa said with a small chuckle from her story.

Draco, however, was not amused. "Mother, I don't think anyone would ever want to hear a story about a naive, 6 year old boy at Christmas."

Narcissa patted her son's arm, "Oh Draco, I haven't met one person who hasn't found you 'set-his-own-trousers-on-fire-with-the-Christmas-tree-candles' funny."

"Now you do. I hate that story." Draco pouted and looked away.

Hermione shook her head with a smile and said, "I'll be right back." She stood up and walked away to the bathroom. Making sure it was empty, she slid into one of the stalls and took out a mirror from her purse. "Harry Potter," she said.

Soon enough, Harry's face appeared at the other end of the mirror. His face lit up with joy at the sight of his friend. "Hermione! It's good to hear from you," he said, "How are you?"

Hermione smiled as well. "Oh, I'm fine. I'm having breakfast right now but I just wanted to check in and say hi."

"Oh...well great. Who are you eating with?"

Hermione hesitated. She never told Harry or Ron she was spending the holiday with Draco. She was positive Harry wouldn't want to know now. "Err...with my parents. Enjoying a beautiful snowy day together."

"That's good. I'm at Ron's. Him and the twins are making gingerbread houses with dancing gingerbread men."

She laughed. "Sounds fun," she said.

"Yeah but it would be a lot better if you were here."

"Harry! Come look at this!" Ron's voice echoed behind him. He looked over his shoulder and back at Hermione.

"Sorry. Got to go. Unless you want to say hi to the gang."

"No, no. Just send them my love. And merry Christmas Harry."

"Merry Christmas Hermione." With that, Harry's face disappeared.

Hermione heard the door open. She paused.

"Hermione? It's Narcissa. Are you ok?" Narcissa asked outside the stall next to Hermione's.

"Uh...yes Narcissa. I'm perfectly fine. I'll be out in a minute."

"Ok then."

Hermione waited to hear the click of Narcissa's shoes click toward the door and the slam of the door closing.

_Click...Click...Click...Slam!  
_

Hermione let out a breath. She stepped out of the stall. She left the bathroom and walked back to her table.

* * *

Narcissa buttered her second piece of bread and spoke quickly to Draco. "Just consider it. This is the opportunity of a lifetime."

"I know you don't expect me to take this big of a leap in my life," Draco said in a hushed tone.

Narcissa took a double take when she saw Hermione approach the table. She stuffed the piece of buttered bread in her mouth.

"Sorry I took so long," Hermione said as she sat herself next to Draco. Draco nodded and took a sip of coffee. Hermione went back to her breakfast. The table seemed tense. The only noise that came from their table was the noise from their forks hitting their plates.

Hermione was confused after she had come back from the bathroom. Narcissa and Draco's attitudes changed. Even back at the manor, "I'm going to organize the New Year's party."

She kept walking, not looking back.

"She'll take a while," Draco said before walking away himself.

Hermione was discouraged. She took herself up to her room and opened the balcony door. She made sure she was bundled up and took a book with her. She took a seat in front of the greatest view of the winter wonderland. She took the book to her lap and began to read.

_...The dream was always the same.  
It began with Susannah looking out over a charcoal ocean. A thick fog crawled over the water, blurring the division between sky and earth. As it surrounded her, she felt her will dissolve, as thought overtaken by a supernatural force. Then an eerie foreboding emanating from the sea, fog and sand enveloped her like and invisible cocoon. Flooded with anxiety, she desperately began searching the seashore for something, but didn't know what._

_ As the dream continued, Susannah would become so frightened, she would awaken screaming for her mother. Susannah was six years old when the dream first appeared. her mother had reassured her there was nothing to fear and that dreams were not real...  
_

Hermione's eyes struggled to stay open. They fluttered a few times before closing completely.

* * *

Draco sat in his father's study. Trying to think through his mother's proposition. Flipping through an old book of dark magic, he sighed and closed the book. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. Narcissa's voice rang in his head.

He held his head in his hands. What should I do? Then there was a knock at the door.

"Does Master Malfoy wish to have his tea?" a house elf squeaked.

Draco wasn't even really paying attention. He waved his arm dismissively. The house elf quickly got to the desk and placed the tray on top. It struggled to reach the tea pot to pour the tea into the cup. "Don't worry about it, I got it," Draco breathed, paying no mind to what he was saying.

The house elf seemed frightened. It quickly ran out the room.

_I know you don't expect me to take this big of a leap in my life. He shuddered. The task was for him to make a tough decision._

"Maybe I should talk this out with Hermione," he said to himself. "Mm...not now." Draco poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip. He was anxious. He didn't know what to do. For about an hour he paced from the desk, to the door, to the desk again. He glanced at the grandfather clock. 1 p.m. He ran his hand through his hair. "Geez," he said.

Soon enough, he decided to leave the room. He walked through the long halls and turned a corner to Hermione's room. He knocked once. Nothing. He knocked a second time. Nothing. "Hermione?" he said. He put his hand on the handle and turned it, opening the door. He walked into her room and it was awfully cold. "Dear God woman. How can you stand it?!"

Draco then realized Hermione wasn't even in the room. He also noticed the glass door wide open. He stepped into the room completely and closed the door behind him. He went out onto the balcony and looked for Hermione. He found her a few feet away from the door. She has on her coat, hat, and scarf so she probably barely felt the cold. She was asleep with her book, _Elusive Love,_ lying open on her lap.

He couldn't help but smile. He didn't want to leave Hermione out in the cold so he took her book, marked it, and carried her to her room as he has done so many times before. He placed her on her bed and removed her scarf and hat. He unbuttoned her coat and placed her book on the desk on the left side of the glass door.

_Should I tell her? No. Not now anyway.  
_

Draco looked at Hermione one more time before closing her door.

A/N: ok no more apologies. u kno y im so late. i will tell u this. b prepared for a shocking next chapter for the new year. hehe.. R&R ppl. thanks!


	14. Draco Has A Secret

A/N: woo next chapter! enjoy!

A few hours later into the day, Hermione had awoken. She felt unexpectedly warm. She looked around and saw she was in her room. It was dark outside, she could see. She yawned and got out of bed. She left her room and stepped into the hallway. She turned a corner and was about to go down the large burgundy carpeted staircase. She heard voices downstairs. Unmistakably Narcissa and Draco. They were having a heated discussion at the foot of the stairs.

Hermione hid behind a pillar beside the staircase and listened.

"Draco did you even think about it?" Narcissa asked in a very serious tone.

"Yes mother I did," Draco stated. "And I won't do it."

"Why not? This can do you so much good!"

"I'm not ready. Neither is she."

_Is he talking about me?_ Hermione thought.

"Nonsense. I see the way you look at her. I'm sure you want to do it as much as I want you to," Narcissa pushed on the subject.

"Mother! That is not true. Besides, even if it was, it doesn't mean she wants to."

Hermione was utterly confused. What did Narcissa want Draco to do? Who was this she and her they're talking about? Was it her? Or someone else?

After a pause, Narcissa spoke again. "I only ask this of you for your own happiness."

"Well I believe you asking a bit too much of me mother," Draco snapped.

Hermione heard him stomping up the stairs. Uh oh. she thought. She stepped away from the pillar and ran down the hallways, back to her room. She heard Draco's footsteps pass her bedroom door. As the footsteps started to fade away, Hermione stuck her head outside the door and looked in the direction Draco was walking in. She saw him. His head hung low and he dragged his feet. He had turned a corner in the hallway and disappeared.

Hermione closed her door. She didn't know what was going on but she was going to find out. One way or another

* * *

Draco slammed his door behind him and slummed over to his bed. He lied down, laced his fingers over his stomach and stared at the ceiling. _Ignore her Malfoy. Come on, you're nearly 17. Your mother can't make your decisions anymore._

That was true. Narcissa must realize completely that Draco was not a child anymore. Yet he couldn't help but feel sympathetic. What she wanted him to do would rush him but he guessed she just wanted to live to see the day. She would anyway. That woman isn't going anywhere.

Then what took away all of Draco's attention was a knock at the door

* * *

Hermione knocked on the wood of Draco's bedroom door. She wanted to talk to him but had no idea of what to say. 

Draco had opened the door and stared at her. "You're awake," he finally said.

"Yeah..." Hermione replied nervously.

"I saw you on the balcony and I brought you in...Didn't want you to freeze." Fake chuckle.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"Oh. Oh of course love; come in." Draco could sense Hermione's nervousness. He knew because he felt the same.

Hermione stayed silent and thought of what to say. Once it hit her, she spun around. "Draco, I just want to know what's going on around here. You're keeping something from me and I want to know what it is. And don't tell me it's nothing because I heard you and your mother arguing about it downstairs."

_Shit,_ Draco thought

There was a silence. Not even a pause. A silence. Long and painfully quiet. Hermione was shaking her head as if perplexed at the fact that Draco had had a secret of his own. Draco leaned up against his door.

"So what is it Draco? I know something is up."

Draco sighed. What am I going to say? I knew I should've been more prepared for this.

Hermione just stared at him. Her hands were on her hips and said nothing.

"Hermione, you have to understand-"

"Understand what? What I don't understand is that you would keep something that seems so big from me!"

Draco stomped his foot. "Dammit woman let me talk for once!"

Her eyes widened. She was taken aback from his sudden outburst.

"You make it seem like you're completely perfect. Like you have no secrets of your own. What is discussed with my mother and I shall stay between my mother and I."

Hermione was shocked. Her mouth hung open. She looked away from Draco to the door. Before Draco could say anything else, she walked to the door, opened it and left the room.

_Shit,_ Draco thought

* * *

Hermione did not retreat to her room. She turned the corner and walked over to the pillars next to the staircase. She paused, making sure no one was having a conversations downstairs.

Silence.

She walked down the stairs and went over to the now comforting fireplace. She sat on the couch closest to the fire. She put her hands on her lap. Looking up, she stared at the family portrait of the Malfoy's.

The portrait Lucius and Narcissa were having their own quiet conversation. Yet, the smaller Draco stood in front, his arms crossed, looking very bored. He noticed Hermione and stuck his tongue out. Hermione remembered Draco at this age and thanked God for puberty.

"You would tell me your secret wouldn't you?" she asked. The portrait shook his head and sat down on the chair behind him while his parents spoke.

So she sat there, just her and the fire. She sat with a blank expression, letting her mind drift off to better times. Times before Draco: Hogsmead with Harry and Ron, adventures with the Time-Turner, meetings with the Order... She was on the right track but Hermione couldn't help but look back on the Halloween ball. Draco had looked so handsome and had been so charming and romantic. All was perfect; even the kiss. Until, of course, they found out who the other was.

Why did Draco have to be so secretive and mysterious? Just the thought of him made Hermione weak in the knees sometimes.

All of a sudden, Hermione heard Narcissa's voice at the top of the staircase. She wasn't talking to anyone. She was muttering things to herself with a parchment in her face. She came down the stairs and walked in Hermione's direction.

"Narcissa?" Hermione said.

Narcissa jumped. She placed her hand over her heart. "My goodness child. Trying to give me a heart attack?"

"No, no. Sorry."

Narcissa sighed and looked at the parchment again. "I need more time to plan this."

"A week isn't enough?" Hermione asked.

"No. Not nearly enough."

Hermione bit her lip. "I can help," she volunteered.

Narcissa looked at Hermione and back at the parchment. After a minute or so, she passed the parchment to her. "You can help. It can speed things up a bit. I want you to look these over while I go check on something for this weekend."

Before Hermione could say anything, Narcissa raced off.

_Ok. Lets see what we have here._ Her eyes widened._ Oh geez Narcissa..._

* * *

Draco escaped the manor and wandered outside in the snow. Holy shit it's cold. He was freezing even with his coat on but he had to get out. Think about things. Thin about better times. Times before Hermione: Pranks on Harry and Ron, having the younger years fear him, being proud of his cruel attitude. Then his mind drifted off back to the Halloween Ball. He remembered how beautiful Hermione looked. And that kiss. He couldn't forget it.

That's when Draco finally remembered why Hermione was here in the first place. HE LOVED HER!

Draco went around back into the garden. All the plants and trees were covered in snow. He went to the middle of the garden and looked around ._Is it my fault I love her? No, no it's not. It's hers! Why does she have to be so perfectly un perfect? Why does she have to be so beautiful? But why, oh why, does she have to be so nosy?_

Unable to stand the cold anymore, Draco walked out of the garden and went his way back to the manor. It was starting to get dark. He looked up at the sky and saw a few stars peeking through the semi-darkening sky. He touched the nob of the manor's front door and the door opened. He was still looking at the sky when he stepped in. He didn't see anyone but he ran into someone. _Please let it be mother,_ he thought.

Alas, he had been Hermione. She had fallen onto the floor and the piece of parchment she had floated about a foot away. She was wearing a coat and a scarf was around her neck. "Sorry," Draco mumbled. He extended his arm out to help her.

She looked at his hand and got up herself. She went over to the parchment and picked it up. "It's...um...it's cold out there," Draco said dimly.

Hermione looked out the door. "Well Draco, it's snowing. I would've never guessed." She walked passed him and walked the path he had just taken. Draco stared in the direction she had just gone. With a "what-the-fuck-just-happened" look on his face. Minutes later, Hermione came back into the room. She quickly closed the door. "Damn, it's freezing out there," she said.

"Well Hermione, it's snowing," Draco said sarcastically.

Hermione looked at the parchment in her hand. "If you must know, I'm helping your mother plan the New Year's gathering." She made it sound as if she was in an all-girls club and Draco couldn't join.

He blinked. "You're serious?"

"Yes."

"Ok."

"Ok?"

"Ok."

"Oh...ok."

Draco walked away and went up the stairs, taking two at a time, and went to his room. Hermione, on the other hand, watched him go. For some reason, she expected more. Something else for Draco to say. She didn't know what, but she expected more than just an "ok."

She shook her head and looked back at the parchment._ I guess there's no such thing as 'too much' for Narcissa Malfoy,_ she thought.

A/N: hope u liked it and as a special treat since i take so long to update...imma give you a preview of the next chapter!

* * *

_Gazing around the ballroom, Draco turned to Hermione and said, "You surely outdid yourself on this one."_

_"Is...is that Malfoy in the background!?"_

_"I don't think that's a good idea Ron." "Ron? Ron? RON!" "Ron don't do this." "Please Ron, be rational." "Ron no!"_

_There was a loud, piercing scream coming from the ballroom and Draco ran full speed as soon as he heard it._


	15. New Year's At The Malfoy Manor

A/N: ALL SHALL KNOW WHAT PSYCO THING RON DOES IN THIS CHAPTER!

It was the afternoon on New Year's Eve. For the past few days, things have been tense between Draco and Hermione. It pained Draco to think it but maybe the feelings Hermione had once felt for Draco had vanished. Her greetings were small and barely noticeable. When Draco spoke to her, she acted as if she does not hear him or her response was, "Not now."

In his room, Draco had written a letter to Blaise, asking him to come that night for New Year's.

* * *

Unknowingly, Hermione did the same. Out of spite, she sent a letter to Harry and Ron inviting them as well. She sent them directions to the manor and told them they were directions to her home. She kept it short and simple. Besides, she missed them. She needed some familiar faces. 

After she sent her letter, she went off to Narcissa to ask her if everything was ready for that night.

"I highly appreciate your help. I hope everything goes well," Narcissa said while looking around the ballroom.

"Do you think everything is ready?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, I hope so."

_That's not a good answer,_ thought Hermione.

After meeting with Narcissa, Hermione had went back to her room and read her book. She had already gotten half way through it.

* * *

Draco returned to his father's study and sat at the desk within it. He tapped his fingers on the desk. He suddenly remembered how boring the house was during the winter. _Homework perhaps? _He didn't have much of a choice. He left to his room and started his holiday homework. 

He was halfway through his potions work when a knock came to his door. His heart skipped a beat.

"Draco?" Narcissa's voice.

Draco stood and opened the door. His mother stood at the door looking confused. "Yes mother?" said Draco.

"I wish to know something," Narcissa said, "I wish to know why yourself and Granger are lacking in communication."

Draco groaned and turned away. "Mother, Hermione and I just are...we're just not talking right now."

"Why not?"

Emotionally, Draco said, "Because I fucked up okay?!"

Narcissa twitched. "Watch your tongue."

Draco sat on his book filled bed and held his head in his hands. "I should've told her. She knew something was going on but I just blew up in her face." He explained everything to his mother.

Narcissa sat next to him on his bed. "It's not your fault. You had your privacy and you wanted to protect it. You did no wrong."

Draco shook his head. "I don't even know how to make her talk to me again."

"Don't worry. She'll come around soon." Wish still a frown on Draco's face, Narcissa went to leave the room. Before she closed the door, she looked over her shoulder and said, "Don't sulk all day. I expect you in the ballroom by sundown."

Draco sniffed dramatically and fell back onto his bed. _Damn potions homework._

* * *

Since neither Narcissa nor Hermione found time to shop for new gowns during the week, Narcissa wore whatever she had and allowed Hermione to choose whatever she wanted. 

Hermione looked at herself in her mirror at the gown she had borrowed. It was a slinky black dress with a corset ribbon lace-up back. It had a bodice with a v-neck spaghetti straps, pull over styling. It fit her perfectly, which was strange since Narcissa was 3 inches taller than Hermione and the span of their hips had a visible difference.

Hermione wore a pair of silver, dangling earrings and the shoes she wore at Christmas. She wore her hair down in calm curls, her lips shining with glitter and her eyes sparkling with shadow. She spun around and smiled. She looked out from the glass door, staring into an orange and pink sky. The sun was going down. Perfect timing.

Hermione left the room and walked over to the staircase. Yet again, she heard voices at the bottom.

"You look fine," said the voice of Narcissa.

"I guess so," said Draco.

"Now wait for Hermione. Everyone is expecting you and her to be together."

"We **are **together. Mother, I love her, whether she's mad at me or not. You're going to see her with me tonight."

Up the stairs, Hermione cleared her throat, stepping aside from the pillar.

Both Draco and Narcissa looked up.

Hermione looked down at them with a "I-heard-everything" look.

Draco bit his lip and looked at Narcissa.

Narcissa looked at Hermione and smiled. "You look lovely," she said.

"Why thank you," Hermione replied, keeping her eyes on Draco.

Narcissa looked from Hermione to Draco and said, "Well, I shall get going."

Left alone, Draco and Hermione stood in silence. A few minutes later, Draco said, "You...you really do look beautiful."

A small smile crept on Hermione's face. "Thank you." She made her way down the stairs and came to his level.

"Hermione I'm sorry I lost my-" he tried to say but Hermione placed her finger on his lips.

"Shh. Just shut up and kiss me." She brought her arms around his neck and smacked her lips against his.

At first, Draco was surprised by the kiss but decided to go along with it. She snaked his arms around her waist and dove into a deeper kiss. Moments later, they separated. "I love you," Draco said.

"I love you too," said Hermione.

Draco took her hand and walked her to the ballroom. Already, guests began to walk around the large room and gaze at the scenery.

The walls looked as if they were frosted and in the center in the ceiling was a very large, divine chandelier. It was snow white and had levitating candles lit around it. Around the room were round tables with crisp linen tablecloths and napkins. The head table, where Draco, Hermione and Narcissa were to be seated, was skirted with silver and crystal candelabra centerpiece. Each table had very expensive looking china and silverware.

Gazing around the ballroom, Draco turned to Hermione and said, "You surely outdid yourself on this one." Across the room was Blaise. He was socializing with someone who looked like Pansy. Wait, that was Pansy!

"Is that Parkinson?" Hermione asked.

Blaise took a double take and waved over to Draco. He started walking toward him with a grin. "Hey Dray. Everything looks good," he said.

"Thanks. Uhh..Is that Pansy over there," Draco asked.

Looking over his shoulder, Blaise said, "Yeah. I brought her."

"I can tell. Why," Hermione asked in a monotone.

Blaise stared at Hermione. "Because," he said. "I know she would want to spend her New Years here."

She stared back. "I have to get something from my room." She turned away and left to her room. Draco followed her.

Up in Hermione's room, she shuffled through her things to give off the impression she was looking for something. The more she shuffled, the more she heard a voice say her name. She found her mirror and saw Harry. "Harry," Hermione asked, confused.

Into the mirror she saw Harry's face. "Yeah. Hey Hermione. Sorry if I'm bothering you but I just wanted to let you know before Ron and I get there that he's--" Harry didn't finished his sentence. His face scrunched up and squinted his eyes.

Hermione cocked her head to the side. "What's wrong Harry?"

"Is...is that Malfoy in the background!?"

Hermione turned around and saw Draco behind her. "Not a good time is it," he said. Hermione shook her head slowly.

She went back to the mirror and Harry wasn't happy. "Hermione, I tried to stay sane through all this Malfoy business. You know how Ron is when he hears his name. When he finds out about this-"

"He's not," Hermione interrupted.

Harry blinked. "He is. At one point. Hermione, I can't keep finding excuses to defend you when it comes to Malfoy. Ron won't listen to anything. You know he won't. When we get there I don't know what will happen."

Hermione bit her lip. "Ok. I'm going to try and find a way to break it to him."

Draco still stood in the background of everything. He paced back and forth, as if nervous of what will happen next. Weasley is fucking nuts. He'll kill to get Hermione when he knows he can't no matter what he does.

Hermione wrapped up her conversation. "I'll see you soon," said Harry.

"Ok and do not tell Ron that Draco is here."

Almost hesitant, Harry replied. "I hear you." He disappeared.

Hermione sighed and sat on her bed. "Ron. Will. Freak," she said.

"I know," said Draco. Then he furrowed his eyebrows. "I have a question. Why did you even invite them in the first place?"

Hermione looked at him with an "oops" look on her face. "Well...mainly out of spite. I knew it would drive you crazy so I told them to come here. That's only part of it. I wanted them to come because I missed them. I wanted to see them."

Draco huffed. "Ok. What else did you tell them?"

"Well," Hermione started. "I sorta told them this was my house. So they would come. I mean they wouldn't come if they knew this was the Malfoy Manor."

He stared at Hermione. "You're killing me here," he said.

She looked back at her bed. "I'm sorry," she said.

Draco shook his head. "Never mind it. Let's just get back downstairs." He extended his arm for Hermione's hand. She grabbed it and followed him out the room. The made themselves down the stairs, back to the ballroom.

Narcissa was seated at the head table that all three of them would sit. She was speaking with a butler when she spotted Draco and Hermione. She dismissed her butler and motioned to the two teenagers to sit with her. Draco took Hermione to the table and met Narcissa. She gave them a look with a smirk on her face. "Have you two come to your senses and decided to be the love-birds you were from the start?"

Hermione smiled and looked at Draco. "Yes," she said.

"Fabulous," said Narcissa. "Now I need you two to sit down while the rest of the guests arrive."

"Does mother know you invited your friends over," Draco whispered as he and Hermione sat.

"I told her that I was inviting a couple of friends. Nothing specific."

Draco laced his fingers on the table. "I hope nothing bad happens," he said.

"If Ron isn't a firework today, nothing at all with go wrong."

Draco looked unsure. "Ok."

* * *

A short while later, the ballroom was filled with guests. Everyone in very elegant gowns and suits. Although, Hermione noticed not one, but two not-so-elegant suits. One with fiery red hair. She took a deep breath and said, "They're here." 

Draco looked out into the crowd. "Oh really. Go to them and tell Weasley that this is my home."

Hermione pursed her lips. She glanced at Draco and stood from the table. She went into the crowd and was greeted by random guests. She then found out she was known as "Draco Malfoy's Girlfriend." Only that. No one even bothered to know her name! Never mind that. Go for Harry and Ron. She came to the back of the ballroom and saw two very lost looking boys. One with jet black hair and the other with red. Hermione couldn't help but smile when she saw them.

"Harry! Ron!" She rushed to them and hugged them tight.

Ron smiled wide. "Wow Hermione. That sure is a beautiful dress," he said.

Hermione looked down at the dress she was wearing. "Oh, well this isn't mine. It belongs to a friend of mine." She glanced at Harry and saw he was looking at her. She smiled. "I missed you guys. I'm glad you were able to come."

The boys looked around the room. "Umm, did a rich relative die or something? Because this is more of a castle than a house," Harry said.

Hermione bit her lip again. She looked nervous. "Guys I have to tell you something. I don't live here."

Ron looked like he was bracing himself for something really bad. "Then who does," he asked.

"Umm," she murmured. She looked behind her, at Draco. "M-Malfoy lives here."

Ron looked at her with hurt and disgust, if possible. "Malfoy lives here," he asked.

With sad eyes, Hermione nodded.

He scanned the room and stopped at a table in the front of the room. Ron had spotted Draco's blond head. "I'm going to give that fucker a piece of my mind."

Hermione's eyes widened. "I don't think that's a good idea Ron."

Not listening, Ron began to walk through the crowd.

"Ron? Ron? RON," Hermione called after him.

He ignored her. He pushed passed guests in mid-conversation. After a few minutes, Hermione caught up with him. "Ron don't do this."

Before she knew it, both herself and Ron made it to Draco. Narcissa looked at Ron, stunned. She didn't say anything; she took her Champaign glass and walked away from her table. Draco glared at Ron. "What do you want Weasley," he snapped.

"Please Ron, be rational," Hermione begged.

Draco looked from Ron to Hermione. "What are talking about?"

Then Ron grabbed Draco by his shirt and pulled him out of his chair. "I'm sick of you Malfoy," Ron whispered, his words filled with venom. "You took Hermione right from my fingertips. I hate you with a burning passion Malfoy." Ron then pulled up a fist.

"Ron no," Hermione screamed.WHAM!

Ron punched Draco in the face and blood trickled down Draco's nose. Ron let him go and let him fall. Hermione ran over to him. "Again Ron!?" she scolded. She looked at Draco. "Are you okay," she asked him.

Draco groaned. "No," he said.

Hermione helped him up to his feet. "Let's clean you up. And Ron, you can leave." She looked over at Harry through the staring guests. "I'm sorry Harry. You can stay if you want."

Harry shook his head. "I'll take Ron home."

Hermione continued to help Draco through the sea of people up to the bathroom.

* * *

Up in the bathroom, Hermione used a wet tissue and lightly wiped the blood from Draco's face. "I am so sorry Draco," she said. 

"You can't expect much from Weasley," he mumbled.

"I know, I know." She wiped off the last bit of blood. She smiled at him and kissed him softly. "I promise I won't let him touch you again," she said.

He looked into her eyes and saw sincerity. "I believe you."

All of a sudden, the ground gave a violent shake.

_No,_ they both thought.

The light flashed in the bathroom. They looked around and at each other. "What's going on," Hermione said, panicked. She looked at the floor and screamed. At the bottom of the doorframe, the floor was gone. Darkness was starting to cover the floor.

There was a loud, piercing scream coming from the ballroom; Draco opened the door and ran full speed as soon as he heard it. Hermione followed him as fast as she could. The entire floor from the bathroom to the ballroom was entirely death black. It seemed Draco paid it no mind. He reached the ballroom and stopped abruptly. Hermione soon came to his side. All the guests were pressed up against the walls. The floor was clear and in the middle stood Virginia with the ring around her neck.

Memories from their last meeting flooded Draco and Hermione's heads. "What does she want now," Draco sighed. Hermione gripped his arm.

"Look at who she's pointing her wand at," she whispered, shaking.

Draco looked followed where Virginia's wand pointed and found Narcissa, sitting calmly in her seat. Narcissa raised her glass. "Glad to see you too Virginia," she said.

Hermione held back Draco from running inside the room and blasting Virginia into oblivion.

Still as calm and eased as can be, Narcissa said, "You sure like to make public appearances."

Virginia stomped her foot. "Why do you have to be so cruel," she half yelled, half sobbed.

"How, exactly, am I being cruel," Narcissa asked.

"You..you left me. I did nothing and you got rid of me. And when I come back to start a relationship with you, you shun me for my twin and a mudblood!"

"You can't say that!" Hermione had lost her own self control. "You lived with muggles until were 7 years old. And you were happy until you became curious about ur bloody necklace!"

Virginia wipped her head around to face Hermione. Narcissa didn't look elegant and so beautiful anymore. She wore heavy black eyeliner and grey eyeshadow. Her dress was black velvet and net with purple satin. Her hair was mussed and uneven at the tips. She had dark circles under her eyes, looking as if she hadn't slept since their last meeting.

Hermione's face fell. "What happened to you," she asked.

Virginia's eyes watered and wiped away a tear as soon as she felt it coming from her left eye. "Do you know how it feels to have your own mother reject you when she hasn't even seen you since you were a baby? It's like I'm crying to a stranger. My heart was in the right place. I wanted my mother. Now I can't have her."

Hermione stared at the blond. Thinking about her next move. She glanced at Draco. He was restraining himself; Hermione could tell. She looked as Virginia looked back at Narcissa. "I'm sorry but...if I can't have you, no one can." Tears ran down her face. She shut her eyes closed and whispered two unforgivable words. "Avada...Kedavra."

"No!" screamed Draco. He ran out into the ballroom as the emerald jet of light escaped from Virginia's wand's tip.

Narcissa looked down and whispered before the light hit her, "I love you Draco."

She was hit.

She was knocked back in her chair and fell lifeless to the floor.

Crying, Draco pushed passed the sobbing Virginia to his mother. Hermione ran behind him. When Draco reached the head table, he fell to his knees. Sobbing hysterically, he held up his mother's body. "No, no, no, no," he cried. Hermione hung over his shoulder, crying as well. Draco clung to his mother. "She killed her! That monster took my mum's life!"

With a tear streaked face, Hermione looked over her shoulder to the room. Many of the guests had left, thought some lingered and watched the insident. Virginia was on the floor, crying. Draco continued to call her vile names. Hermione saw Virginia tap her wand's tip on the floor three times and disappeared through darkness.

Once she disappeared, everything changed back. The floors were no longer black and the walls were back to their festive decorations.

Hermione touched Draco's shoulder. "She's gone," she said.

"So what," Draco sobbed, "That won't bring my mother back."

All those who remained in the room stood silent for Narcissa.

* * *

_**May Narcissa Black Malfoy rest in peace and reach a brighter place. May she be remembered.**_

* * *

A/N: OMG THAT WAS LONG! i really hope u like this one. leave a comment and tell me ur thoughts! 


	16. AN

A/N: GUYYSSzz! ii REALLY NEED AN iiNSPiiRATiiOoN! iiTSz BEEN GETTiiNG HARDER n HARDER FOR Mii TO WRiiTE BECAUSE iiM GETTiiNG LESS n LESS iiNSPiiRATiiOoN/ UNLESSz SUMONE CAN HELP Mii...ii WONT BE UPDATiiNG ANYTiiME SOoN


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